Posted Wednesday 1st April 2026
Following the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“the Act”) coming into force in December 2025, a wide range of reforms will be implemented beginning on 6 April 2026. These changes will affect family leave, sick pay, trade union recognition, workplace protections, and enforcement structures.
This article outlines the key changes coming into effect in April 2026, though there will be more changes introduced by the Act to come, which we will report on in separate articles.
From 6 April 2026, the Act introduces increases to several statutory rates, requiring employers to increase the minimum they pay their employees. This may also mean that employers need to update payroll systems to practically deal with this change. This is significant because employers may now have to budget for higher wage and compensation costs as well as consider the administrative task of updating payroll systems. There are also significant repercussions which, in extremis, result in criminal prosecution, if minimum wage is not paid.
National Minimum & Living Wage increases:
Tribunal Compensation Limit increase:
A tribunal compensation limit is the maximum amount of money an employment tribunal can legally award for specific employment claims, such as unfair dismissal. From 6 April 2026, the Tribunal compensation Limits will be:
Week’s Pay Cap increase:
A week’s pay cap is the maximum statutory amount used to calculate statutory redundancy pay and basic awards for unfair dismissal claims in the Employment Tribunal. From 6 April 2026, the statutory cap on a week’s pay increases to £751.
The qualifying period for two key types of family leave is changing. From 6 April 2026 both paternity leave and unpaid parental leave rights become day‑one rights, meaning that employees will be entitled to such leave from their first day of employment.
Statutory pay for paternity leave still requires at least 26 weeks’ service, but the right to take the leave (unpaid) itself no longer depends on an employee’s length of employment. There is also a temporary reduction in the notice period for paternity leave to 28 days, making the entitlement more flexible.
Also, employees will now be able to take paternity leave even if they have already taken shared parental leave – a restriction that previously prevented this.
The new paternity leave rules will apply to:
The Act introduces a new entitlement for partners facing the death of a mother or primary adopter and offers a considerable expansion of compassionate leave rights.
Key features:
No such leave, or a variation of the same, is introduced on the death of a father or non-primary adoptor.
Statutory Sick Pay (“SSP”) will undergo one of its most significant changes in years.
From 6 April 2026:
Phased Returns to Work and SSP
Previously, SSP required a Period of Incapacity for Work (PIW) of at least four consecutive days. This prevented SSP from being paid where an employee returned on alternate days (e.g., Monday–Wednesday–Friday).
From 6 April 2026, a PIW becomes one day of incapacity, or two or more consecutive days of incapacity. This means that employees on phased returns can receive SSP for non‑consecutive days they are too unwell to work.
On 7 April 2026, the Fair Work Agency (“FWA”) will be formally established. It is anticipated that the FWA will significantly increase inspection powers, and enforce employees’ rights. The FWA will:
From 6 April 2026, employers must keep detailed annual leave records for six years. The Act gives employers flexibility to create and maintain the records in any format they think fit but the records must be complete, accurate and retained for six years. Although not yet established at the date of this article, the FWA is expected to play a role in overseeing compliance with this. The records include:
Voluntary Menopause and Gender Equality Action Plans – from April 2026, employers with 250+ employees are encouraged to publish both menopause action plans and gender equality action plans. These will become mandatory in 2027, but the April 2026 voluntary phase is intended to help organisations prepare for the upcoming obligations.
Trade Union Recognition Simplification – from 6 April 2026, the statutory recognition process becomes significantly more accessible and makes it easier for unions to secure statutory recognition. A union would only need to show that 2%–10% of workers in the bargaining unit are members to start the statutory recognition process, reducing the current threshold. The requirement for 40% of all workers in a bargaining unit to vote in favour of recognition is removed and now requires only a simple majority of votes cast.
Strengthened Protections in Redundancy and Workplace Safety – from 6 April 2026, the Maximum protective award increases from 90 to 180 days’ pay. Employers therefore will need to take collective consultation obligations even more seriously or run the risk of costly consequences.
Sexual Harassment as a Protected Disclosure – reports of sexual harassment are now treated as qualifying disclosures under whistleblowing regulations, meaning that workers gain stronger protection from detriment or dismissal after reporting sexual misconduct. Employers must ensure robust reporting channels and anti‑retaliation measures and HR teams should update whistleblowing and dignity‑at‑work policies.
Employers and HR teams should, in the first instance, update HR policies and handbooks, assess annual leave and working time record keeping as well as review payroll systems for SSP and statutory rate changes. Over the coming months, employers may want to consider training managers on the changes especially on day‑one rights and whistleblowing protections.
If you would like to discuss the above information, obligations or any of the other changes brought into effect by the Act further with us, please do not hesitate to contact our Employment team.
This article is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any action.
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