Greater Player Power? How The Employment Rights Act 2025 may impact Football’s Labour Market
The[1] Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025), to be phased in across 2026 and 2027, represents a structural reset for employment law in sport. While football’s labour market has historically prioritised contractual certainty, expanding statutory protections will introduce new sources of leverage for players. This article considers how those protections may shift bargaining power, dispute strategy and financial risk for players and clubs, focusing on:
- Uncapped Compensation and Incentives
- Constructive Unfair Dismissal Risks
- Forum Selection for Players
- Impact on Academy Players
- Collective Redundancy Considerations
- Termination Payments and Contractual Uncertainty
- Behavioural Factors
- Conclusion
- Practical Takeaways
This is the second part in a three-part series examining the impact of the ERA 2025 on football in the UK. The first part provides an overview of the core reforms and is available here, and the third part examines the specific implications of the ERA 2025 for managers in UK football (which can be read here).
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- Tags: Dismissal | Employment Rights Act 1996 | Employment Rights Act 2025 | Employment Tribunal | Football | Unfair Dismissal | United Kingdom (UK)
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Written by
Steven Flynn
Steven is a specialist sports law barrister at Kings Chambers and 2 Temple Gardens. His practice is focused on commercial, employment, and regulatory matters. Steven is frequently instructed by players, clubs, agents, governing bodies, and players’ associations to deal with high profile/value disputes in these areas.
Mia Chaudhuri-Julyan
Mia’s pupillage was also one of only a few in the country that comprised substantial sports law experience, including sports arbitration, mediation, regulatory and sports/employment matters.
Before joining chambers, Mia was a Judicial Assistant to Lord Justice Phillips in the Court of Appeal, where her work had a particular focus on commercial disputes. She also spent two years at Leigh Day in the Employment, Discrimination and Human Rights teams, working on group claims. She holds a Master's in Law from UCL with distinction and was one of only five to receive a prestigious Princess Royal Scholarship for the Bar Course from the Inner Temple.
