Webinar Summary: Employment Rights Act 2025 – What Care Providers Needed to Know
In this session, The Outstanding Society was joined by Employment & Immigration Partner James Sage of RWK Goodman to unpack the most significant changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, widely described as the biggest overhaul of employment law in over 50 years.
Designed specifically for social care providers, the webinar explored the practical impact of these reforms on workforce strategy, compliance, and day-to-day operations.
Key topics included statutory sick pay changes, with pay becoming available from day one and eligibility widening significantly; the introduction of the Fair Work Agency, with new enforcement powers around pay, holiday, and compliance breaches; and reforms to unfair dismissal rights, including a reduced qualifying period and increased employer risk.
The session also covered the expansion of trade union rights, including greater workplace access and easier recognition; new potential liability for third-party harassment; tighter restrictions on fire-and-rehire practices; forthcoming changes to zero-hours contracts; and the proposed Fair Pay Agreement, which marked a major shift toward sector-wide pay setting in adult social care.
Throughout the discussion, James, Ruth, and Sanjay reflected on both the risks and opportunities these changes created for providers. They highlighted the importance of stronger recruitment processes, more effective probation and onboarding practices, robust record-keeping, proactive absence management, and better support for managers handling people issues.
Overall, the webinar provided practical guidance for care providers preparing for legislative change and considering how best to strengthen their people management approach in a rapidly evolving employment landscape.