Situation before reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025
Eligible employees have long been entitled to statutory paternity leave and statutory unpaid parental leave. However, paternity leave was only available once an individual had been continuously employed for 26 weeks, and parental leave was only available once an individual had one year of continuous employment.
Employees on certain types of statutory family leave have preferential rights in a redundancy situation, being entitled to be offered any suitable available vacancy before it is offered to others. This applies to those on maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, pregnant employees and those who have recently returned from maternity or adoption leave, and in some circumstances shared parental or neonatal care leave.
There is no statutory right for employees to take bereavement leave, other than parental bereavement leave, which is available if a child dies under the age of 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
All employees have the right to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off during working hours to deal with emergencies involving their dependants.
Employees have the right to request flexible working arrangements, which can include remote work, job-sharing and compressed hours. (These rights are also being strengthened under the Employment Rights Act – read about this separately here.)
So what’s changed/changing and when?
Under the Employment Rights Act, statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day one rights from 6 April 2026. The Act also removed the requirement for paternity leave to be taken before shared parental leave (or be lost), giving employees more flexibility on which type of leave to take. (Note too that, as part of its plans to Make Work Pay, the Government launched a review of the parental leave and pay system on 1 July 2025 which is expected to run for 18 months.)
In addition, although outside of the Employment Rights Act, bereaved partner’s paternity leave was introduced from 6 April 2026; broadly, this enables bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or adopter dies in childbirth or within the first year of the child’s life.
In the future, the Employment Rights Act will introduce further significant changes to support working families, as follows:
- Protection from other types of dismissal (not just redundancy) for pregnant women and those on, or returning from, maternity leave or potentially from other types of family leave: This is expected to come into force from 2027. The Act includes little information on this right. However a Government consultation, which closed on 15 January 2026, sought views on issues such as:
- what the specific circumstances for being able to dismiss a pregnant woman or new mother fairly should be;
- when the enhanced dismissal protections should start and end;
- any potential unintended consequences attached to this extension of rights and how to mitigate against these;
- how to make sure pregnant women and new mothers are aware of the extension of rights;
- how best to support businesses through the changes;
- additional action that could be taken to tackle any workplace disadvantage triggered by pregnancy and maternity, and to support women who have experienced this; and
- what other forms of family leave should be similarly protected.
- A new statutory right to bereavement leave: Employees will get a statutory right to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave to grieve the loss of a loved one. Further to consultation, the Government has confirmed that bereavement leave will be available from day one of employment and will cover the loss of immediate family members, i.e. spouses, civil partners, partners in a committed long-term relationship, parents, adult children and siblings (biological, adopted, step and half). It will also cover equivalent parental relationships for those raised in kinship or foster care arrangements.
- A new statutory right to bereavement leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks: The Act will give parents who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks of pregnancy the right to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave. The Government confirmed in its consultation response that leave for pregnancy loss will be available, from day one of employment, to the person who was pregnant, as well as a spouse, a civil partner, other parent or a partner in a committed long-term relationship. The leave will also be available to an intended co-parent and intended parents in surrogacy arrangements. All types of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will be covered, including miscarriage, terminations, and IVF embryo transfer loss.
The new rules relating to leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss are expected to come into force via secondary legislation from April 2027. The Government will also publish guidance in due course.
What you need to do
- Update your family leave policies and practices as the changes take effect. Make UK subscribers can access in our HRL Resources updated versions of our template policies reflecting changes in force from April 2026, i.e. Policy - paternity leave (and request forms), Policy - parental leave (and request form), Policy - shared parental leave (birth), Policy - shared parental leave (adoption) and Policy - compassionate leave and parental bereavement leave. Other template policies will be updated as further changes to the law take effect in 2027. (If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can purchase individual policies for a fee.)
- Raise awareness among your managers on how the changes will impact your organisation. Your managers will need updated guidance on correctly applying the new rules.
How we can help
The Employment Rights Act strengthens protections for working families and widens access to family leave. For employers, this increases the need for clear policies, consistent decisions, and confident managers.
Our HR and legal experts can help you put the right foundations in place and reduce the risk of mistakes as the changes come into force. We can support you with:
- Updating family leave policies and documentation: Reviewing and updating policies including in respect of paternity leave, parental leave, shared parental leave, and compassionate leave, so they reflect new day-one rights and extended protections.
- Manager guidance and training: Helping managers understand what has changed, and how to handle sensitive situations, reinforced through practical development including Essential People Management Skills.
- Managing dismissal and redundancy risk: Practical guidance to help you apply enhanced dismissal protections correctly for pregnant employees and those on, or recently returning from, relevant family leave.
- Supporting bereavement and leave for pregnancy loss: Advice on introducing bereavement leave in line with new statutory rights, including support for pregnancy loss and handling these situations with care.
- Embedding changes into day-to-day practice: Helping you to move beyond policy updates, so changes are understood, applied correctly, and reflected in real workplace decisions.
Additional support and resources
Stay informed and prepared by signing up to our email updates, where we’ll share confirmed changes and key dates as they come into force. Subscribers can access up-to-date guidance, template policies and letters in our HR & Legal Resources section, and our expert team is on hand to answer questions or provide practical support, whether or not you are a Make UK member. You can also contact our ERA enquiry line.
To see the planned changes at a glance, download our free Employment Rights Act planner for clear timelines and practical next steps. If you’d like a deeper insight, ask about our Audit and Impact Assessment - a structured review to help you understand your levels of risk, prioritise actions and plan with confidence.