The Employment Rights Act 2025 is now in force

Paternity Leave.

From 6th April 2026, the below criteria is now applicable for Paternity Leave:

• Eligibility for Paternity Leave is from day one of employment (eligibility for Statutory Paternity Pay requires employees to have worked continuously for us 26 weeks, ending with the week immediately preceding the 15th week before the expected week of the child’s birth).
• Have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing.
• Be the biological father of the child or the mother’s husband or partner.
• Be married to, or the partner of, the child’s mother, but not the child’s father; if he has or expects to have the main responsibility (apart from any responsibility of the mother) for the upbringing of the child.

This applies to civil partners and cohabiting partners of the child’s adopters or joint adopters.

Please note that Statutory Paternity Pay remains unaffected, and employees are still required to have worked continuously for 26 weeks — ending with the week immediately preceding the 15th week before the expected child’s date of birth.

Bereaved Partners Paternity Leave.

Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave has now also come into effect. Leave is for employed, bereaved fathers and partners. It is a day-one right to extend paternity leave within the first 52 weeks of a child’s life if they are in the tragic circumstance of losing the child’s mother or primary adopter.

The right applies to all fathers and partners — including same-sex partners and civil partners, and extends to surrogacy and parental order situations.

Statutory Sick Pay.

Statutory Sick Pay is applicable from the first day of sickness absence. There are no longer three waiting days and the Lower Earnings Limit eligibility has now been removed — meaning all workers are entitled to SSP, regardless of their earnings.

Staff will be paid either the flat SSP rate — or 80% of the worker’s average weekly earnings if their earnings are below the flat SSP rate. The SSP rate is now £123.25.

Parental Leave.

Parental leave offers qualifying parents the right to take time off work to care for a child or to make arrangements for its welfare. It is aimed at helping employees strike a better balance between work and family commitments.

Employees are now eligible for parental leave from the very first day of employment. Prior to this, they needed a minimum of one year continuous service to qualify.

Collective Consultation during Redundancy.

Although this will not affect your current handbook, employers must now be mindful that failing to comply with collective consultation rules where 20+ employees are made redundant, will mean that potential protective awards rise from 90 days’ gross pay to 180 days’ gross pay per employee.

Whistleblowing Sexual Harassment.

Workers who report sexual harassment at work benefit from new protections under whistleblowing law. The change covers whistleblowing protections against detriment and unfair dismissal.

Key aspects to review are the whistleblowing policy you currently have and making sure managers are updated on the changes to protection.

Fair Work Agency.

From 7th April, the new Fair Work Agency will bring together enforcement of core employment rights into one place. This will benefit companies that already comply with the law by providing a centralised contact for support and information.

Key changes of the Fair Work Agency include the following:

• It will bring together the enforcement of key employment rights, including the National Minimum Wage, protections for agency workers, and gangmaster licensing.
• Over time, the Fair Work Agency will expand its remit to cover additional rights, such as ensuring workers receive holiday pay.
• The agency will be empowered to investigate potential breaches, issue civil penalties, and act decisively against labour exploitation.
• A statutory advisory board—made up of business representatives, trade unions, and independent experts—will provide strategic guidance to the agency.

Familiarise yourself with the Fair Worker Agency once the statement is released, and ensure you have the agency’s contact details for guidance.

Annual Leave Records Retention.

Employers also have a new duty to keep any records relating to annual leave and holiday pay. Employers must maintain adequate records tracking their staff’s annual leave and any associated payments.

This can be done in any format the employer reasonably considers appropriate, but the information must be kept for six years.

The information that must be recorded includes:

• Ordinary and additional annual leave
• Annual leave carried forward from previous years
• Details of holiday pay — including which pay elements are included or excluded
• Any payments in lieu of annual leave, including carried-over leave

There has been no explicit announcement from the government about this, so we await further guidance.

Stay Compliant with a Free ERA Review.

Ensure your business is aligned with the latest Employment Rights Act changes. Our free compliance review gives you the opportunity to speak with a Business Support Manager, who will assess your current policies and practices and highlight any areas you may need to update. It’s a simple, no-obligation way to stay compliant and confident. book here