Employment Rights Act 2025: What Domiciliary Care Agencies Must Do Before April

The Employment Rights Act 2025 represents the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in a generation. For domiciliary care agencies, which rely heavily on flexible staffing arrangements, the changes are particularly impactful. Several provisions take effect in April 2026, and agencies that have not updated their contracts, policies, and practices will face legal exposure.

This guide covers the key provisions that affect domiciliary care and what you need to do before the April implementation dates.

Day One Unfair Dismissal Protection

The most significant change is the removal of the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims. Under the new Act, employees have the right to claim unfair dismissal from day one of employment. Previously, employers could dismiss staff within the first two years without facing an unfair dismissal claim, provided the dismissal was not for a protected reason.

For domiciliary care agencies, this means your approach to probationary periods, performance management, and dismissal procedures must be robust from the first day of employment. You can still dismiss staff during a probationary period, but you must follow a fair process. Dismissals that would previously have been low-risk during the first two years now carry the same legal exposure as dismissals at any other point in employment.

What to update: review your disciplinary and dismissal procedures to ensure they are fair and documented from day one. Update your employment contracts to reflect the new probationary period arrangements. Train your managers on the requirement to follow fair procedures from the start of employment.

Changes to Zero Hours Contracts

The Act introduces new rights for workers on zero hours contracts, which are common in domiciliary care. Workers will have the right to request a guaranteed hours contract after a qualifying period, based on the hours they have regularly worked. Employers must offer a contract reflecting the hours actually worked unless there is a genuine business reason not to.

This does not ban zero hours contracts outright, but it does mean that agencies using them as a permanent staffing model for workers who consistently work regular hours will need to reconsider. If a care worker has been working thirty hours a week for six months, they will be entitled to request a contract reflecting those hours.

For more detail on how zero hours contract changes affect care agencies specifically, see our article on zero hours contracts in domiciliary care.

Strengthened Flexible Working Rights

The right to request flexible working becomes a day one right, and employers must handle requests within a shorter timeframe. Employers can still refuse requests, but only on specific statutory grounds, and the requirement to explain the refusal is more demanding.

In domiciliary care, flexible working requests are common. Care workers may request specific shift patterns, restricted geographical areas, or limited hours to fit around other responsibilities. Your flexible working policy needs to reflect the new requirements, including the shorter response timeframes and the enhanced duty to explain any refusal.

Strengthened Protections Against Harassment

The Act strengthens the duty on employers to prevent harassment in the workplace. For domiciliary care, this extends to harassment by third parties, including service users and their families. Agencies will need to demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment of their workers.

This is particularly relevant for care workers who work in service users' homes. If a care worker reports that a service user or family member is behaving in a harassing manner, the agency must take action. Your harassment and dignity at work policy needs to cover third-party harassment explicitly, and your risk assessment process should identify and address harassment risks.

Fire and Rehire Restrictions

The Act places significant restrictions on the practice of dismissing employees and re-engaging them on inferior terms. This practice, sometimes used when agencies restructure or renegotiate terms, will be subject to a much higher legal threshold. Employers must demonstrate that they have exhausted all alternatives before using this approach.

For domiciliary care agencies considering changes to staff terms and conditions, the message is clear: consult properly, explore alternatives, and document everything. Unilateral changes to contracts are now considerably riskier.

What You Need to Update

Before April 2026, domiciliary care agencies should review and update the following:

• Employment contracts, particularly probationary period clauses and zero hours arrangements
• Disciplinary and dismissal procedures to ensure they are fair from day one
• Flexible working policy to reflect new timeframes and obligations
• Harassment and dignity at work policy to include third-party harassment
• Staff handbook sections covering contractual terms and employee rights
• Manager training on the new requirements, particularly around day one rights

If you are unsure whether your current policies meet the new requirements, review them against the provisions of the Act. The registered manager documents guide covers the broader set of documents you are personally responsible for maintaining.

The Risk of Not Acting

Agencies that do not update their employment practices before April face exposure to unfair dismissal claims from day one employees, complaints from workers on zero hours contracts seeking guaranteed hours, and potential enforcement action around harassment prevention duties. The cost of an employment tribunal claim, even an unsuccessful one, is significant for a small care agency in both financial and reputational terms.

Employment law compliance is not a CQC requirement directly, but CQC does inspect under the Well-Led key question how effectively the service is managed. Poor employment practices that lead to high staff turnover, grievances, or tribunal claims will affect your CQC rating.