Employment Rights Act 2025: changes in force from April 2026

A summary of key recent changes to employment legislation

This month has seen the introduction of a raft of changes brought in by the Employment Rights Act 2025. Many employers will be well informed and prepared for these changes in theory, but the practical implications are now starting to be felt in workplaces.

The changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) are likely to have seen the most immediate impact, with employers having to manage SSP payments for lower paid workers and day one payments, for example for irregular hours workers when they are absent for planned shifts because of incapacity.

Other changes from April 2026 are likely to have a significant impact on employers over the next few months and years.

We summarise in this article the key changes from April 2026 which employers should be aware of.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

SSP is now payable from the first full day of sickness absence. There is no longer a requirement for three “waiting days” before SSP is payable.

SSP is also now available to all eligible employees no matter what they earn. SSP is calculated at the lower of 80% of average weekly earnings or the statutory weekly rate, which is currently £123.25.

Previously employees earning over the Lower Earnings Limit, which was £125 per week, did not qualify for SSP. The Lower Earnings Limit has now been removed.

The Government has published guidance on transitional arrangements which explains how to deal with sickness absences that started before 6 April 2026. This is available at Sickness absences that start before and end on or after 6 April 2026 - GOV.UK.

Day-one paternity and parental leave rights

From 6 April, employees can give notice to their employers to take paternity leave and unpaid parental leave from the first day of employment. Employers should note that employees will still need to have 26 weeks’ service up to the end of the "qualifying week" (the 15th week before the baby is due) to qualify for statutory paternity pay.

There is also new flexibility for fathers and partners who can now take paternity leave and pay after shared parental leave and pay.  The former rules meant that paternity leave could only be taken before shared parental leave.

Transitional arrangements are in place for newly eligible birth parents with a baby due before 26 July 2026. For these parents, the notice period is temporarily reduced to 28 days. Otherwise, the notice requirements remain as before.

Bereaved partner's paternity leave

In a further extension of family leave entitlements, employees who suffer the loss of their partner or the mother of their child within the first year of their child’s life or adoption will have a day one right to unpaid leave of up to 52 weeks. There is no statutory pay entitlement for this new leave.

Collective redundancy – increased protective award

6 April saw a key change to the collective redundancy regime, with increased financial risks for employers who fail properly to consult employee representatives on redundancy and change of terms dismissals.

The maximum protective award for non-compliance with collective redundancy obligations has increased from 90 days' pay to 180 days' pay per affected employee. This change applies to dismissals which take place on or after 6 April.

The duty to consult collectively is currently triggered when an employer is proposing 20 or more redundancies or change of terms dismissals at one establishment within a 90-day period. An additional organisation-wide trigger is planned to come into effect in 2027.

See our article on the current open consultation on the organisation-wide trigger at: Employment Rights Act 2025: Government consults on a new organisation wide threshold for collective redundancy consultation - Wrigleys Solicitors LLP.

Whistleblowing protections for sexual harassment disclosures

Sexual harassment has now been added to the list of wrongdoings under section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 which can potentially be protected disclosures.

This change will make it clearer that workers and employees who blow the whistle about sexual harassment may benefit from whistleblowing protections. Staff making disclosures about sexual harassment will still have to reasonably believe that the disclosure is in the public interest in order to be protected from detriment (for workers and employees) or dismissal (for employees only).

Trade union requirements

A number of key trade union related changes came into effect in February this year. These include a reduction in the notice needed for industrial action (reduced from 14 days to 10 days), an increase in the mandate for ballots approving industrial action (increased from 6 months to 12 months), and the simplification of picketing rules. Employees are now protected from unfair dismissal for taking part in industrial action, whatever the length of the strike action. Previously this protection fell away after 12 weeks.

The following changes to the trade union recognition process came into effect in April 2026:

• ⁠only a simple majority is now required in trade union recognition ballots – this removes the previous 40% support threshold;

• there is no longer a requirement for the trade union to show there would be a likely majority of employees in favour of recognition;

• following a request for voluntary recognition from an independent trade union, new rules now prevent employers from recognising a non-independent union and blocking the independent union’s recognition application.

Holiday pay records

From 6 April 2026, employers must keep adequate records to show they have complied with holiday pay and entitlement rules. These records need to be kept for 6 years.

Gender Equality Action plans

Employers with 250 or more employees are being encouraged to produce and publish a voluntary action plan alongside their gender pay gap data ahead of compulsory action plans coming into force next year.

Action plans will need to set out the steps employers are taking and will take to improve workplace gender equality, to address the gender pay gap and to support employees experiencing menopause.

The Government has published detailed six-step guidance on creating a gender equality action plan. This is available at  Creating an action plan: guidance for employers - GOV.UK.

Fair Work Agency launched

On 7 April, the Fair Work Agency (FWA) was launched. The FWA is tasked with upholding workers' rights and supporting employers with compliance. It will now enforce rights including the National Minimum Wage, agency worker protections, and gangmaster licencing. Future enforcement by the FWA will include holiday pay rights.

The FWA has powers to investigate employer breaches, issues civil penalties and take action against labour exploitation.

Single point of access to open consultations

Multiple consultations have been actioned by the Government on key aspects of the ERA 2025, and many more are planned over the rest of this year. It has been difficult at times for employers to have an overview of these. Helpfully, links to open consultations are now accessible from one Government webpage.

The current open consultations are as follows:

All open consultations can be accessed, along with a summary of key changes, at New employment rights: Guidance for businesses and workers.

Next steps for employers

Employers should of course continue to keep themselves informed of the changes and the new Government resources are a helpful starting point. Acas and HMRC also provide useful website information and webinars for employers.

Many of the recent changes will mean updates to policies and practice are needed, along with refreshed training for line managers to ensure that the new rules are well understood and clearly communicated to colleagues. The employment team at Wrigleys will be happy to assist with policy review and advice on implementing the changes.

Wrigleys’ employment team will be hosting our annual Employment Law Conference specially curated for charity and not for profit employers on 18 June in Leeds. We will be covering key changes under the ERA 2025, including those already in force and those expected in 2027. You can book your place at Wrigleys Employment Law Conference for Charities | 18 June 2026 - Wrigleys Solicitors LLP. It would be great to see you there.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article further, please contact our Employment team on 0113 244 6100. 

You can also keep up to date by following Wrigleys Solicitors on LinkedIn.

The information in this article is necessarily of a general nature. The law stated is correct at the date (stated above) this article was first posted to our website.

Specific advice should be sought for specific situations. If you have any queries or need any legal advice, please feel free to contact Wrigleys Solicitors