01.04.2026

April brings with it a wave of employment-related changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025, with more reforms due later this year. 

Below, we outline the key measures which will take effect from 6 April onwards. We also signpost to further guidance and support.

6 April changes 

As you will know if you have checked your Make UK Roadmap and/or Employment Rights Planner recently, the following changes are due to take effect from 6 April:

  • Changes to family related leave: Statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become available from day one (instead of requiring minimum periods of employment, as they do currently). In addition, the requirement for paternity leave to be taken before shared parental leave (or is lost) will be removed (with the aim of giving employees more flexibility as regards which type of leave they take). You can read more about the various family friendly related reforms which will come into force under the Employment Rights Act (including action points for HR) in our Family Friendly Reforms: Spotlight. If you work in HR, now is a good time to update your policies and ensure your managers are aware of the changes. (Make UK subscribers can access updated versions of our Policy - parental leave (and request form) and Policy - paternity leave (and request forms) in our HRL Resources.)
     
  • Changes to statutory sick pay (SSP): Employers will be required to pay SSP from the first full day of sickness absence (i.e. the three-day waiting period which currently applies will be removed). In addition, the Lower Earnings Limit will be removed, and all eligible employees will be paid either the SSP flat rate or 80% of their weekly earnings – whichever is lower. To read more, see Statutory Sick Pay: Spotlight and SSP changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025: practical points for HR.
     
  • Doubling of maximum collective redundancy protective awards: The maximum award against employers for failing to collectively consult on redundancies will increase from 90 to 180 days’ pay per employee – significantly increasing the cost of failure to comply with the rules. Our Collective Redundancy: Spotlight outlines all of the changes that are planned in relation to collective redundancy consultation under the Employment Rights Act. (Note, for example, that there is currently a Government consultation underway on the level and methods by which the new organisation-wide threshold for triggering collective redundancy obligations might be set. If you would like to contribute, please email our Policy Team.)
     
  • Rules relating to trade union recognition will be simplified: The Employment Rights Act will make it easier for trade unions to be successful in an application for statutory recognition. Unions will no longer need to show that they are likely to win a recognition ballot when applying to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). Unions will only need to show the CAC that 10% of the proposed bargaining unit are union members for their application for recognition to be accepted. Where a ballot is held, the requirement that at least 40% of the workers in the proposed bargaining unit must vote for recognition will be removed. In future, unions will only need a simple majority of those who turned out to vote. To read more about changes in this area, see Trade Unions/Industrial Action: Spotlight.
     
  • Sexual harassment will count as a whistleblowing qualifying disclosure: This is the first of many changes that will be made in relation to rules on harassment under the Employment Rights Act over the coming months – see Harassment: Spotlight for further details.
     
  • New holiday record-keeping requirements: Under the Employment Rights Act, all employers will be required to retain records relating to holiday entitlement and pay for a minimum of six years (from the date on which they were made). Notably, the Fair Work Agency – which is due to be launched from 7 April – will have enforcement powers in relation to the rules around holiday pay (as well as in respect of minimum wage and statutory sick pay etc), including the ability to issue fines and criminal sanctions for failure to keep adequate records. To read more about the significance of this new body, including the intended scope of its powers, see our Fair Work Agency: Spotlight.

Other April plans 

The Government has indicated that it will publish menopause guidance in April. It has also said that it will publish further guidance for employers on creating an equality action plan. (As a reminder, employers with 250 or more employees will be required to develop and publish equality action plans showing what steps they are taking in relation to certain prescribed gender equality matters. This will include explaining what action the employer is taking in respect of its gender pay gap and how it is supporting workers during the menopause. These measures are expected to be introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2026, before coming into force in 2027). To read more, see Action on Equality: Spotlight and HR and Employment Law FAQs March 2026.

Note too that outside the Employment Rights Act the new statutory right to bereaved partners’ paternity leave will be introduced from 6 April. This plugs a gap in the current legal framework by enabling bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of (unpaid) paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life.  

Finally, keep in mind that increases to statutory pay rates and limits (for family related leave and sick leave), and changes to minimum wage rates, will take effect from April in the normal way. (Make UK subscribers can access the Rates and limits from April 2026 in our HRL Resources.)

How we can help

Make UK is on hand to support you preparing for all the changes under the Employment Rights Act. If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak with your adviser if you have any queries. You can also access detailed HR and employment law guidance and template policies in our HR & Legal Resources section, which will be maintained as changes under the Act come into force. 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. 

You may wish to register your interest in our Employment Rights Act Training for Managers.

You may also be interested in finding out more about our Audit and Impact Assessment: a bespoke audit which will help you to identify the level of potential risk in relation to each relevant legal change and provide recommended actions with a timeline to keep you compliant. Our HR and legal consultants would be happy to provide you with further information about this assessment (including reduced rates for Make UK subscribers).

Over the coming weeks, our Policy Team will submit responses to the various Government consultations on the Employment Rights Act which are currently “live” and is keen to hear your views (see question 2 of the ⁣HR and Employment Law FAQs March 2026).

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.