Draft Employment Rights Act 2025 (Investigatory Powers) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026

**What happened:** On 18 March 2026, the House of Commons approved the Draft Employment Rights Act 2025 (Investigatory Powers) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 by 368 votes to 107. The result was announced as a deferred division -- meaning MPs had voted on a previous sitting day rather than immediately after a debate. These regulations make technical updates to existing investigatory powers legislation to bring it into line with the Employment Rights Act 2025. **Why it matters:** The regulations ensure that employment enforcement bodies have the legal tools necessary to investigate breaches of the new rights introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025. Without these consequential amendments, there could be gaps between the powers enforcers hold and the obligations the new law places on employers. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced a wide range of workplace protections -- including changes to sick pay entitlement and stronger day-one rights -- and these regulations are part of the machinery needed to make those protections enforceable in practice. Media coverage has focused on significant changes taking effect from April 2026, including reformed sick pay rules estimated to benefit around 15 million workers. **The politics:** The vote divided largely along party lines. All 271 Labour MPs voting, along with Labour and Co-operative members and smaller progressive parties including the Liberal Democrats, Greens, and Plaid Cymru, voted in favour. All 91 voting Conservatives, all five DUP members, and all five voting Reform UK MPs voted against. There was one Labour rebel voting No. The opposition's resistance likely reflects broader Conservative and Reform objections to the Employment Rights Act itself rather than specific concerns about investigatory powers procedure, with some retailers and employers groups having raised concerns about the economic impact of the wider legislation on youth employment.