This month, the first tranche of reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 came into force. These changes introduced significant new rights for employees and corresponding obligations for employers, with immediate practical implications for HR, payroll, and workplace policies. The reforms were implemented across two key dates, 6 and 7 April 2026. This article provides an overview of the changes to help organisations and employees understand their new rights, duties, and responsibilities.
Paternity and Parental Leave Becoming Day 1 Rights – From the first day of employment, employees are now entitled to take paternity leave and unpaid parental leave. Previous service requirements (26 weeks for paternity leave and one year for parental leave) no longer apply, bringing paternity leave in line with other family leave entitlements. In addition, paternity leave may now be taken even if parental leave has already been taken, as the requirement to take paternity leave before parental leave has been removed. However, eligibility for Statutory Paternity Pay still requires 26 weeks’ service at the qualifying date.
New Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave (BPPL) Day 1 Right – A new statutory right to Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave (BPPL) was introduced. This entitles an employee who is a parent, or the partner of a child’s primary carer, to take up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave where the primary carer died within the first 52 weeks following the child’s birth or adoption. Like with paternity leave, the new entitlement applies from day one of employment, provided the leave was taken within 52 weeks of the birth or placement.
Collective Redundancy Consultations and the Protective Award Doubles – The maximum protective award for failure to properly consult on collective redundancies was increased from 90 to 180 days’ pay. This applies where an employer proposes 20 or more redundancies within a 90-day period. The increase represents a significant penalty and is intended to incentivise proper consultation processes.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Reforms – From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) became payable from the first day of sickness absence, removing the three-day waiting period. In addition, the lower earnings limit was removed. Eligible employees now receive the flat weekly rate of SSP or 80% of their normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
Holiday Records – Employers are now required to maintain accurate records of statutory annual leave. This includes records of paid leave, any carry-over from previous years, and leave relating to irregular hours and part-year workers. Records must be retained for a period of six years and be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate compliance with working time obligations.
Whistleblowing Protections for Sexual Harassment – Disclosures relating to sexual harassment are now explicitly protected under whistleblowing law. Individuals who make such disclosures will be protected from detriment and unfair dismissal.
Trade Union Recognition Simplified – The statutory process for trade union recognition was streamlined. The requirement for a union to demonstrate that it was likely to win a recognition ballot at the application stage was removed; instead, it only needs to show that at least 10% of the proposed bargaining unit are union members. In addition, the 40% support threshold in recognition ballots was abolished, meaning that a simple majority of votes cast is now sufficient for recognition. As a result, a relatively small proportion of employees may be able to secure union recognition, even where overall turnout is low. The change sets the scene for other upcoming wide-reaching trade union law changes; from October this year, trade unions will have a statutory right to enter workplaces to recruit members and employers who faily to comply with this right will face fines of up to £500,000 per breach!
Gender Equality and Menopause Action Plans (Voluntary) – Employers with 250 or more employees may voluntarily publish gender pay gap action plans and menopause support action plans. Mandatory publication is expected to follow in Spring 2027. Early adoption can demonstrate leadership in inclusion and ESG commitments, while allowing time to embed meaningful measures ahead of mandatory implementation.
7 April 2026: Fair Work Agency Established – The Fair Work Agency (FWA) was established within the Department for Business and Trade to consolidate employment rights enforcement functions across areas such as the National Minimum Wage, statutory payments, and holiday pay. The FWA has the power to inspect records and business premises and may issue civil penalties for non-compliance. In future, it is anticipated that the FWA may also be able to bring claims on behalf of employees.
How can we help?
Our team of Employment Law Solicitors at Curzon Green are leading in all employment law matters. Should you require advice for your business regarding the changes being made or assistance implementing compliant policies, we are here to help.