Improving access to flexible working could be the most challenging aspect of the Employment Rights Bill for employers, survey finds

While many key reforms still require consultation, the government’s major overhaul of workers' rights will impact every employer in the UK in some way. And HR teams will play a crucial role in preparing for, and ensuring compliance with, the raft of new legislation being phased in over the next few years. 

Ciphr’s poll asked 300 UK HR decision-makers to identify which, if any, of the many proposed new policies were going to be the most challenging (in terms of time, resources and increased costs) for their business.

Over a fifth (22%) of those surveyed felt that the planned change to flexible working – namely expanding or improving access to flexible working to make it the ‘default’ where practical – is likely to be the most challenging of the incoming employment reforms. The strengthening of legal protections for workers taking part in industrial action, and the extension of employment tribunal time limits (which could lead to an increase in claims), were also identified as being among the most challenging for many employers (selected by 21% and 17% of respondents respectively).     

Currently, all employees have the legal right to request flexible working, such as remote or hybrid working, reduced or compressed hours, or flexitime, but employers can refuse these applications on one or more of eight statutory business grounds. The Bill’s new requirements puts the onus on employers to ensure that any flexible working request is properly considered and only refused on “reasonable” grounds, with these reasons clearly explained. Employers will also have to follow specific steps to consult with the employee before any decision is reached. 

HR professionals working at organisations in sectors where remote or hybrid work is less prominent, and in-person work is the typical employment model, were among those most likely to find the implications of improved access to flexible working a concern. Based on Ciphr’s survey, around a third of retail, and hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses (35% and 33% respectively), as well as over a quarter of organisations in engineering, manufacturing, and construction (29%), and transport and logistics (25%) are expecting to find this change in flexible working policies and practices particularly challenging to implement. 

Extending the entitlement to statutory sick pay (SSP) by removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period, making paternity leave a day one right, and changes to the qualifying period for unfair dismissal, also represent significant challenges for as many one in six (16%) organisations. The same percentage (16%) highlighted their concerns over proposals for employers to offer minimum guaranteed hours contracts to qualifying zero and low hours workers.

The ‘most’ challenging measures in the Employment Rights Bill to implement, according to 300 UK HR decision-makers:

• Improved access to flexible working: 22% of all respondents 
• Improved legal protections for workers taking part in industrial action: 21%
• Requirement for organisations with 250+ employees to publish Equality Action Plans (including menopause action plans), alongside gender pay gap data: 17%
• Extension of time limits for bringing tribunal claims (from 3 to 6 months): 17% 
• Requirement / obligation to offer guaranteed hours to qualifying zero and low hours workers (including agency workers): 16%
• Statutory sick pay (no lower earnings limit and waiting period): 16%
• Changes to the qualifying period for unfair dismissal: 16%
• Day one right to paternity leave: 16%
• Additional threshold for collective redundancy consultation: 14%
• Whistleblowing protections (to include disclosure of sexual harassment): 14%
• Requirement for employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment: 14%
• Stronger protections for pregnant women and new mothers against dismissal: 14%
• Day one right to bereavement leave (including leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks): 14%
• Obligation to keep working time records of annual leave and pay entitlements: 14%        
• Code of practice to prevent two-tier workforces in public sector outsourcing contracts: 13%
• Liability to not permit harassment of workers by third parties: 13%
• Statutory probation period (length of 'initial period' still in consultation): 12%
• Stopping the use of NDAs to silence harassment or discrimination allegations: 12%
• Day one right to unpaid parental leave: 11% 
• Restrictions on fire and rehire practices: 8.3%
• Regulation of umbrella companies: 7%
• None of the above: 9.3%

For HR professionals working at organisations with 250 or more employees, the move to require them to publish Equality Action Plans, including gender pay gap and menopause action plans, was their most-selected challenge (chosen by 22% of respondents in this group). This regulation is being introduced on a voluntary basis from next April and will become compulsory from April 2027.

HR decision-makers at the largest enterprises in the UK, those with over 1,500 employees, appear the most likely to be concerned about the business challenges and financial burden of affording SSP changes (27% of respondents in this group) and being liable to protect their workforce from third party harassment (23%). 

In comparison, nearly a quarter (23%) of HR professionals looking after smaller workforces, of 10-49 staff, expect the introduction of a statutory probation period, and stronger protections for pregnant women and new mothers against dismissal, to be their biggest compliance challenges.

Commenting on the findings, Claire Hawes, chief people and operations officer at Ciphr, says: “I’m encouraged but also a little surprised to see that expanding the remit of flexible working still tops the list of challenges for organisations. After years of hybrid working, and the proven business benefits of supporting good work/life balance for employees, you might expect employers to feel more confident. But the data tells us the difficulty now lies less in writing the policy and more in embedding fair and transparent decision-making, especially in sectors where presence on-site is the norm. There are, of course, many front-line or in-person roles that simply cannot be done remotely, and many employees who do not want to work remotely either. At its heart, flexible working is about giving people more autonomy and flexibility over how they work, and should be embraced.
 
“There’s no doubt that many of these employment reforms are going to prove complex, admin-heavy, and perhaps costly for some employers to implement. The changes that may create the biggest compliance headaches share some common themes – they all demand better processes and better use of people data, which is sometimes easier said than done. Whether it’s managing multiple flexible-working requests, meeting new consultation steps, publishing Equality Action Plans, or, potentially, dealing with increased employment tribunal claims, HR will be at the forefront and in the firing line. HR has a vital role to play in the successful implementation of this bill – helping to build clear frameworks, train managers, and ensure auditable records.

“Done well, the changes introduced by the Employment Rights Bill could help employers to broaden talent pools, boost retention and engagement, reduce absenteeism and create more inclusive, trusting workplaces. In the short-term, the administrative lift will be challenging. But it is far outweighed by the long-term business gains.”

According to Hawes, the earlier employers start to prepare for the new regulations the better. Some of the actions she recommends include: completing an audit and gap analysis of current policies and procedures; prepping leadership so they have a full understanding of what’s changing and clear expectations around what needs to happen; and upskilling line managers so they are trained in the new requirements. Investing in integrated HR and payroll software can also help streamline legislative compliance. Ciphr’s payroll software, for example, has built-in presets that automatically incorporate the latest regulatory changes. 

Ciphr commissioned OnePoll to conduct an independent survey of 300 HR decision-makers between 22-28 July. The full results are available at https://www.ciphr.com/infographics/employment-rights-bill-survey-reveals-biggest-challenges-for-employers.

Ciphr is the go-to HR and payroll software and solutions partner for medium and large organisations in the UK. Its integrated HR, payroll, benefits, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams, helping to inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Based in Reading, Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business.

For more information, please visit www.ciphr.com.

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Media enquiries:
Emma-Louise Jones, digital PR manager at Ciphr
e: ejones@ciphr.com

Chris Boddice, chief marketing officer at Ciphr
e: cboddice@ciphr.com
Website: www.ciphr.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ciphr

Notes:
Ciphr commissioned OnePoll to conduct an independent survey of 300 UK HR decision makers between 22-28 July 2025. They were asked: ‘This question is about the Employment Rights Bill, and some of the proposed amendments. In your opinion, based on information you have read or researched to date, which of the following changes do you think are going to be the most challenging (in terms of time, resources and increased costs) to implement in your organisation?' (respondents could select up to five options).

Survey sample: Over half (55%) of respondents are employed at SMEs in the UK with less than 250 employees (of those, 8% work at organisations with less than 50 employees). Two-fifths (45%) are at large organisations with over 250 employees (of those, 10% work at enterprises with 1,500+ employees).

Ciphr is the go-to HR and payroll software and solutions partner for medium and large organisations in the UK. Its integrated HR, payroll, benefits, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams, helping to inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business.

The Ciphr Group is a privately held company backed by ECI Partners and headquartered in Reading. Over 230 employees work across the group, which includes Ciphr and Avantus.

Ciphr spokespeople are available to provide expert media comment on a broad range of topics, including HR strategy, people management, employee experience and wellbeing, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), payroll, pay, benefits and rewards, learning and development, the future of work, tech trends, business and leadership, marketing, and more.