KEY POINTS FOR EMPLOYERS

Several important changes to employment law will take effect on 6 April 2026, affecting family leave rights, statutory sick pay, whistleblowing protection and redundancy consultation. Employers should start reviewing their policies and procedures now to ensure they are prepared.

One notable change is that Paternity Leave will become a day one right, removing the current service requirement. However, eligibility for statutory paternity pay will remain unchanged, meaning employees must still meet the existing service and earnings thresholds. Unpaid parental leave will also become a day one right, although the entitlement will remain at 18 weeks per child.

There will also be increased financial risk in Redundancy situations. The maximum protective award for failing to properly carry out collective redundancy consultation will double from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay per affected employee, making compliance even more important.

Whistleblowing protections will be expanded so that reports of sexual harassment can qualify as protected disclosures. This means employers should ensure complaints are handled promptly and that relevant policies and manager training are up to date.

Changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will also take effect. SSP will become payable from the first day of sickness absence, the lower earnings limit will be removed, and payments will be the lower of the statutory rate (currently £118.75 per week) or 80% of normal weekly earnings. Payroll systems and sickness policies may therefore need to be reviewed.

There will also be reforms to the Trade Union Recognition process, including removing the requirement that 40% of workers in the bargaining unit vote in favour of recognition and instead requiring only a simple majority of votes cast.

Finally, a new right to Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave will be introduced. Eligible employees who lose a partner who was the child’s primary carer may be entitled to up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave, together with protection from detriment and unfair dismissal.

With these changes approaching, employers should consider reviewing contracts, policies, payroll systems and internal procedures to ensure they are ready for April 2026.

If you would like advice on preparing for these changes, please feel free to get in touch with our employment team.