The Employment Rights Act 2025 – What should you be doing now to prepare for the changes coming in on 6 April 2026?

Key developments under the ERA 2025 coming in on 6 April 2026 that employers should prepare for now are:

Statutory sick pay (SSP)

From 6 April 2026, the ERA 2025 will remove the three day waiting period so SSP will be payable from day one. The lower earnings limit will also be removed, and a new system will be introduced providing a fair earnings replacement for workers earning below the current rate of SSP which will be the lower of: (i) 80% of normal weekly earnings; and (ii) SSP.

Action: Employers should update employment contracts ready for issue after 6 April 2026, update sickness absence policies and HR systems, and ensure payroll teams are ready for when the changes take effect.

Paternity Leave, Parental Leave and Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave

From 6 April 2026, unpaid parental leave and paternity leave (not pay) will become day‑one rights and the bar on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will be removed.

From 18 February 2026, eligible employee became entitled to give notice that they intend to take paternity leave and unpaid parental leave. The notice period for paternity leave has been temporarily reduced from 15 weeks to 28 days to allow newly eligible parents to still take paternity leave immediately when the changes take effect without being restricted by the 15 weeks’ notice requirement.

Weekly statutory payment rates for sick pay, maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental, neonatal and parental bereavement, will increase on 6 April 2026.

From 6 April 2026, the new ‘Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave’ will enable bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life. This is a separate and new piece of legislation designed to fill a gap where a bereaved partner (usually the father of a child) is not eligible for shared parental leave.

Action: Employers should review and update their family friendly policies and processes to reflect the changes taking effect on 6 April 2026 and raise awareness across HR teams.

Whistleblowing and sexual harassment

From 6 April 2026, complaints about sexual harassment or a disclosure that sexual harassment ‘has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur’ will fall within the definition of a protected “qualifying disclosure” under whistleblowing legislation. Whistleblowers will also gain protection from detriment and unfair dismissal for making a sexual harassment disclosure.

Action: Employers should update whistleblowing policies to include sexual harassment and ensure HR teams and managers are aware of the appropriate process to follow in sexual harassment complaints ready for when the changes take effect.

Other changes being introduced on 6 April 2026, which do not require any specific policy action at this time are:

• Collective redundancy: the maximum protective award for failure to consult on collective redundancies will double from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay from 6 April 2026, and will apply to dismissals taking place from this date. Employers will need to ensure awareness of the potential compensation risk across HR teams.
• Equality action plans: employers with 250+ employees will have a voluntary duty to produce and publish equality action plans addressing certain ‘prescribed matters’ such as gender pay gap and support for employees going through menopause (and may include steps taken to reduce sexual harassment). Employers should start discussions on what gender pay gap reporting and menopause action plans will look like for their business and keep an eye on developments.