Quick answer: The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces significant changes to zero hours contracts, unfair dismissal rights, sick pay and scheduling obligations that directly affect how cleaning companies and facilities management contractors manage their workforce. The cleaning industry's high reliance on flexible and part-time working arrangements means these changes have greater operational impact on cleaning businesses than on most sectors. Key changes include day-one unfair dismissal rights, guaranteed hours obligations for zero hours workers, and expanded statutory sick pay eligibility.
The cleaning industry in the UK employs approximately 700,000 people and relies heavily on flexible working arrangements — part-time contracts, zero hours contracts, bank staff and agency workers. The Employment Rights Act 2025 fundamentally changes the legal framework governing these arrangements and creates new obligations for employers that cleaning companies, DLOs and FM contractors must understand and implement.
This article covers the key changes with direct relevance to cleaning and facilities management operations. It is not legal advice — cleaning companies with complex employment arrangements should seek specialist employment law guidance on implementation.
Zero hours contracts — guaranteed hours obligation
The Act introduces a new obligation requiring employers to offer guaranteed hours to workers on zero hours contracts who regularly work a consistent pattern of hours. Where a zero hours worker has worked a regular and predictable pattern of hours over a reference period, the employer must offer a contract reflecting those hours. Workers retain the right to decline the guaranteed hours offer and remain on a zero hours arrangement if they prefer flexibility.
For cleaning companies this is a significant operational change. Many cleaning contracts are structured around zero hours arrangements that provide flexibility to match staffing to contract volumes. The guaranteed hours obligation means that workers who have established a consistent pattern — for example, a cleaner who has worked Monday to Friday mornings on a single contract site for six months — will have a right to a guaranteed hours offer reflecting that pattern.
Unfair dismissal — day one rights
Previously, employees required two years of continuous employment before acquiring unfair dismissal protection. The Act reduces this qualifying period significantly, moving towards day-one unfair dismissal rights. The practical implication for cleaning companies is that the use of short-term contracts or probationary dismissals as a staffing management tool becomes legally more complex. Dismissal procedures, documentation and fair reason requirements apply from a much earlier point in the employment relationship.
Statutory Sick Pay — expanded eligibility
The Act removes the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay eligibility, meaning that part-time and low-hours workers who previously fell below the SSP earnings threshold now qualify. It also removes the three waiting days before SSP begins, meaning SSP is payable from day one of sickness absence. For cleaning companies with large part-time workforces, this creates new payroll obligations and increases the cost of short-term sickness absence.
Scheduling and notice obligations
The Act introduces new requirements around advance notice of working hours and compensation where shifts are cancelled or changed at short notice. For cleaning operations that involve shift-based or rota-based working — particularly in contract cleaning environments where staffing is reactive to client requirements — this creates new obligations around how schedule changes are communicated and what compensation is owed where confirmed shifts are cancelled without adequate notice.
What cleaning companies should do now
- Review all zero hours contracts and identify workers who have established regular patterns of working hours over the reference period
- Update employment contracts, offer letters and probationary procedures to reflect day-one unfair dismissal rights
- Review payroll systems for SSP eligibility — ensure part-time and variable-hours workers are correctly assessed under the new threshold
- Review shift scheduling and cancellation procedures and update any policies that assume short-notice cancellations without compensation
- Seek specialist employment law advice if your workforce includes significant numbers of zero hours or variable-hours workers
Related guidance
Cleaning trade hub Facilities management hub COSHH Regulations 2002 PUWER 1998 — work equipment
