The Government launches Consultations on key Make Work Pay measures including protections for pregnant women and new mothers at work, bereavement leave and trade union reforms.
The consultations are seeking views on how to shape reforms on proposals put forward to develop employment rights further for workers.
Enhancing dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers
From 6 April 2024 the redundancy protected period for pregnant employees or those taking maternity leave was extended, providing protections from dismissals for up to 18 months for new and expectant employees. Prior to this they were only protected whilst on maternity leave.
The extended protections applied to any employee that notified their employer that they were pregnant leading up to this date or where the maternity leave commenced on or after 6 April.
The redundancy protected period during pregnancy and maternity starts when an employee tells their employer that they are pregnant and ends 18 months from the exact date the baby is born.
Employers must ensure that employees on maternity leave are given the same opportunity of alternative work that employees at work would be given before instigating redundancies. Failure to do so would be classed as ‘unfair dismissal’.
The Government is keen to stamp out unfair treatment of these groups where it is found that the redundancy is being used to ‘sugar-coat’ the reasons for selection, mainly where it is proven that the selection is unfair on the grounds of pregnancy or the notion that the potential for the employee to request maternity leave if employment were offered based on gender. By enhancing the legal protections and addressing plausible reasons that would not infringe on the rights of these categories of workers.
The consultation is mainly seeking views on the current protection framework and when and why pregnant women and new mothers are dismissed or treated unfairly to support the development of this policy proposal.
The measures also apply to Adoption, Shared leave and Neonatal Care Leave, Paternity leave is not included in the new proposals.
Leave for Bereavement including Pregnancy loss
Currently, only employees who lose a child have a statutory entitlement to time off from
work for bereavement. Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay is the relevant entitlement available to bereaved employees if they or their partner lose a child up to the age of 18 or have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, provided they meet certain eligibility
criteria. This provides up to two weeks of paid leave that can be taken in one-week blocks, either consecutively or separately, within 56 weeks of the child’s death.
In cases where a child is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, employed parents may also be entitled to statutory maternity, paternity and shared parental leave and pay, provided they meet certain eligibility criteria.
The new measures are seeking to introduce a new day-one right to unpaid bereavement leave for employees who experience the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Employees will be entitled to minimum amount of leave of one week and a window of at least 56 weeks to take the leave. Protections against unfair treatment as a result of taking leave, protection of contractual rights while on leave, and protection against unfair dismissal will be extended to these cases also.
These two consultations were launched on 23 October 2025, and will close on 15 January 2026.
Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
Currently, employers are not required to tell workers that they have a right to join a trade union, either when they start a job or afterwards. Employees and other workers are legally protected if they choose to join a union, but there is no requirement for employers to actively inform their workers of this.
The proposals laid out in the consultation will introduce a duty on employers to confirm employees’ right to join a union but focuses on the practical detail which will ensure the duty is effective, proportionate and workable for both workers and employers.
This might entail ensuring that communication is provided advising employees of what they need to do so perhaps a written statement in engagement starter packs or separate notices with a guide towards where the information can be found. Those participating will provide views on how best to implement this requirement.
This consultation closes on 18 December 2025.
Reponses can be provided online to the Department for Business and Trade, links to the online access can be obtained from the consultation documents.
