Now that the draft Employment Rights Bill has become the Employment Rights Act 2025, we will gradually see its various provisions coming into force.  Some changes are going to ‘bite’ sooner than others.  But what are the more important changes we can expect to see in April?

Updated family-friendly rights

With effect from 6 April 2026, the right to unpaid parental leave and the right to paternity leave will both become ‘day one’ rights.  No longer will employees require any minimum period of service.  Instead, these will become rights which employees will enjoy as soon as their employment begins.  However, it is worth noting that the right to receive statutory paternity pay will still be subject to the same service requirement as before.  This means that short-serving employees may be entitled to take paternity leave, but they won’t automatically be entitled to be paid for it.  

Increased right to sick pay

We have previously publicised the increase in the basic rate of statutory sick pay (SSP), which will rise from £118.75 to £123.25 on 6 April 2026.  At the same time, and perhaps even more significantly, SSP will become payable: 

• from the first day of sickness absence, rather than employees having to wait until the fourth working day; and 

• even in cases where employees earn less than the ‘lower earnings limit’ (i.e. £129 per week from 6 April 2026).

Given that even very low earners will be entitled to SSP from the beginning of the new tax year, the weekly rate at which it is paid will actually be the lower of £123.25 and 80% of the employee’s normal weekly earnings.

Increased ‘protective award’ in large scale redundancy cases

If an employer proposes to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees within a period of 90 days or less, the employer normally assumes the additional obligation to collectively consult with either recognised trade unions or other appropriate employee representatives.  A failure to do so has, until now, given rise to the risk of each affected employee making a claim for a ‘protective award’ worth up to 90 days’ pay.  With effect from 6 April 2026, the maximum ‘protective award’ will double to 180 days’ pay.

What else is going on?

These are not the only changes expected in April, but they are some of the most important.  If you are keen to explore their likely impact on your business, or the impact of other anticipated changes, please get in touch.  We’d be very happy to help.