Employment Law Changes – April 2026
Thursday 30th April 2026
Employment Act 2025
April 2026 sees several provisions from the Employment Act 2025 take effect.
These include:
- Statutory Sick Pay: the waiting period has been removed, and statutory sick pay entitlement will now begin on day one of sickness absence rather than on day four. Additionally, the lower earnings limit has been repealed, making all employees eligible for SSP. Some lower-earning employees will have their SSP calculated as a percentage of their earnings. but all employees will now be eligible for SSP.
- Family Friendly Leave: entitlement to paternity leave and parental leave are now day one employment rights. The continuous service qualifying requirement of 26 weeks for paternity leave and 12 months for parental leave, have been removed. Additionally, employees are now able to take paternity leave following shared parental leave, something not previously possible. Employees must still satisfy the continuous service qualifying requirement of 26 weeks to be eligible for statutory paternity pay.
- Whistleblowing/Protected Disclosure: a disclosure that sexual harassment has or is likely to occur now constitutes a protected disclosure for the purposes of whistleblowing legislation.
- Holiday Pay: employers must now keep records demonstrating compliance with annual leave and holiday pay requirements. Records must show annual leave taken, as well as leave carried over. All holiday pay received and payments in lieu of holiday made should also be documented. All records must be retained for 6 years.
- Collective Redundancy: the protective award for failure to collectively consult has increased from 90 days to 180 days’ pay.
- Trade Unions: changes making the process of trade union recognition easier are now in effect.
- The Fair Work Agency: the FWA has been established to enforce employment rights and provide guidance aimed at helping employers comply with legal obligations. The FWA will be responsible for existing enforcement functions, currently carried out by other agencies, relating to minimum wage, statutory sick pay, labour exploitation and modern slavery. Additionally, the FWA will have enforcement powers relating to holiday pay. Although not fully operational yet, over time, the FWA’s remit will expand.
- Equality Action Plans: required on a voluntary basis, for employers with 250 employees or more. The action plans focus on reducing the gender pay gap and supporting women through menopause. These will be compulsory from 2027.
The Bereaved Partners Paternity Leave Regulations 2026
These regulations have introduced a new day one employment right allowing fathers or partners to take up to 52 weeks of leave where a child’s mother or primary care giver dies during the first year of their child’s life or adoption.
All information in this update is intended for general guidance only and is not intended to be comprehensive, or to provide legal advice.