Employment Rights Act: Summary of April 2026 legislation changes

The first set of major changes under the Employment Rights Act are due to take effect from 6th April 2026. Whilst some changes are already in force, these are Trade Union related and will only have impacted employers with an active Union presence. This next set of changes will impact all employers. 

If you have not yet prepared policies or need advice on how these changes might impact you please get in touch with our Employment law experts.

Statutory sick pay

A recent ACAS poll found that both employers and employees viewed this as the reform that would have the greatest impact on them. 

From 6th April the current three day waiting period and lower earnings threshold required to receive SSP will be removed.  That means that many more employees will be entitled to SSP, both for short term absences and workers who may have been below the lower earnings limit threshold previously. 

It is essential that you have updated your sickness absence policy and trained your managers in both the changes and managing any potential increase in short term absences. 

Day one rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave

Employees will be entitled to take paternity leave from day one of employment. This will benefit those with a child born or placed for adoption from 6th April, who wish to take paternity leave and anyone taking a period of parental leave starting on or after 6th April.

The service requirements for the entitlement to statutory paternity pay will not change and will still require 26 weeks service as at the qualifying dates.

Again, now is the time to update your policies and let managers know about these changes.

Collective redundancy compensation

When an employer proposes to make 20 or more redundancies within a 90-day period they are required to collectively consult affected employees.  If you do not comply with this obligation the employment tribunal can impose a protective award which is capped at 90 days gross pay per employee. From 6th April this cap will double to 180 days gross pay. 

If you are contemplating redundancies, it is important to get early advice and to follow the appropriate processes.  This change doubles your potential risks where you do not. 

Sexual harassment becomes a protected disclosure

A qualifying whistleblowing disclosure can be made by a worker who has a reasonable belief that it is in the public interest and relates to certain types of wrongdoing, for example a criminal offence or a failure to comply with legal obligations. From 6th April sexual harassment is added to the list of types of wrongdoing. While personal grievances or complaints your employees raise are generally excluded from this, you should be alert to any potential overlap.  You should update your policies around whistleblowing and sexual harassment.

Trade Union recognition process simplified

Rules will come into force which will simplify trade union recognition. If you have an active union presence, but have not voluntarily recognised them, this change will simplify the process by which the union can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee for recognition. 

Equality action plans become voluntary

Employers with 250 or more employees will be finalising their gender pay gap reports now.  From April 2026 they can also chose to publish an action plan to address any gap, and an action plan to support those going through menopause in the workplace.  Both will become mandatory for employers with 250 or more employees from Spring 2027. 

The government recently published a list of evidence-based actions employers can take to both reduce any pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause. It includes recommendations such as adding salary ranges in job adverts, advertising flexible working arrangements, fair and structured interview questions and increasing pay transparency. It also addresses access to training and promotions. 

We are anticipating additional guidance on creating an action plan in April 2026, so look out for more information from us on this.

Fair Work Agency

From 7th April the Fair Work Agency will come into existence and take over from some current enforcement agencies such as National Minium wage. It is also expected to have various enforcement rights and eventually be able to advise employees on employment rights and submit tribunal claims on their behalf when the chose not to, with costs recoverable from the employer.  More information is expected from government soon, and with the deadline fast approaching look out for updates on this.

Bereaved partners paternity leave

This is expected to be in force in April, however, the secondary legislation implementing it is still in draft form at the time of writing. For more information please see our recent article Paternity Leave Act 2024: Day one rights & BPPL explained. You will need to update your family leave policies and train managers on this new right.

Next steps

There is plenty to keep employers and HR teams busy, please get in touch if we can help you prepare for any of these changes or advise you on any other employment matters.