Last Reviewed: 19.11.2025
What is the current situation?
Parents are entitled to statutory maternity leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, adoption leave and unpaid parental leave to look after their children. Currently, statutory paternity leave is only available once an individual has been continuously employed for 26 weeks, with parental leave requiring one year of employment.
Since April 2025, parents whose babies need neonatal care after birth may be eligible to take statutory neonatal care leave.
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 currently 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 currently 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.
Employees have the right to request flexible working arrangements, which can include remote work, job-sharing and compressed hours. (These rights are being strengthened under the Employment Rights Bill – read about this separately here.)
So what’s changing and when?
The Employment Rights Bill will introduce 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: The Bill includes little information on this right. However, the Government consultation, which closes on 15 January 2026, seeks 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.
- Statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become day one rights: Instead of requiring a minimum period of employment, statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become available from day one of employment. The Bill will also remove the requirement for paternity leave to be taken before shared parental leave (or lost), which should give employees more flexibility on which type of leave to take.
- A new statutory right to bereavement leave: Employees will get a statutory right to at least one week of unpaid bereavement leave to grieve the loss of a loved one.
- A new statutory right to bereavement leave for miscarriages before 24 weeks: The Bill will give parents who experience a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy the right to unpaid bereavement leave.
The Government consultation, which closes on 15 January 2026, seeks views on the statutory right to bereavement leave, including leave for miscarriages before 24 weeks, in respect of:
- eligibility criteria, including which relations of the deceased will qualify for bereavement leave;
- when and how bereavement leave can be taken; and
- notice and evidence requirements.
The Government plans to implement these measures on a phased basis. Day-one rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are expected to come into force in April 2026. The extended protections against dismissal and the right to bereavement leave are expected to come into force in 2027.
What you need to do
The timing of some of these actions will depend on when the detail of the new laws is finalised and when the changes come into force. However, you can start to plan now:
- Update your family leave policies and practices as the changes take effect.
- 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
- Sign up to our updates as the legal changes come in, so you can stay compliant and up to date.
- We have detailed HR and employment law guidance, template policies and letters on our website in the HR & Legal Resources section, which will be maintained as the changes come into force.
- Our team of employment lawyers is happy to help if you’ve got questions or need advice. And if you need hands-on support with any projects as you prepare for the changes, our HR and legal consultants can work with you to get the right steps in place and stay compliant.
- Use our ERB enquiry line ([email protected]) for real-time access to legal specialists when you need quick answers about the Employment Rights Bill.
- Ask about our Right track review (coming soon): A focused, in-business audit with clear, practical steps to keep you compliant.
- You can also shape future policy. We speak regularly with Government and feed into consultations, using input from businesses like yours.
Ongoing employment law and HR support
- For longer-term support, our retained service includes:
- Direct access to employment law experts.
- Regularly updated HR policies and templates.
- Advice for day-to-day issues and bigger picture planning.
- The chance to help shape Government policy.
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