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.
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; and the right to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with emergencies involving a dependant (which can include their death).
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.
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.
It is expected that, from April 2027, the Employment Rights Act will introduce the following changes:
- 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. 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: Parents who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks of pregnancy will have the right to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave. 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.
In addition, it is expected that, from October 2027, the Act will introduce enhanced unfair dismissal protection for employees during or after pregnancy or qualifying statutory family leave. The types of family leave covered are maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave and bereaved partner’s paternity leave. The Act includes little information on this right. However, the Government’s response to the consultation on enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and those taking family leave indicates that it will operate broadly as follows:
- A new proportionality/objective justification test will be introduced for dismissals during the ‘protected period’, i.e. an employer will still be able to rely on any of the existing five potentially fair reasons for dismissal, but will need to show that the dismissal was a "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim". (This is a stricter test than the "range of reasonable responses" test which usually applies in unfair dismissal cases.) In practice, this means employers will need to identify what business objective is being furthered by the decision to dismiss the employee, and to demonstrate that dismissal is a proportionate way of achieving that.
- This enhanced protection will apply from day one of employment (i.e. the new six-month qualifying period that applies to ordinary unfair dismissal rights from 1 January 2027 will not apply to the enhanced protection during a protected period).
- In birth cases, the protected period will start from when the employee tells the employer they are pregnant and will end six months after the maternity leave has ended (i.e. 18 months from the birth where all 52 weeks of maternity leave are taken).
- For pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, the protected period will end two weeks after the pregnancy has ended.
- Where an employee takes adoption leave, the enhanced protection will start on the first day of leave and continue for six months after the leave ends.
- Where an employee takes shared parental leave, neonatal care leave or bereaved partner’s paternity leave, the enhanced protection will start on the first day of leave, however the end of leave protection (i.e. protection for six months after the leave ends) will only apply if the individual took at least six weeks’ continuous leave.
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 maternity leave, adoption leave, paternity leave, parental leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care 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.