Employment Rights Act 2025 – Key Changes Employers Need to Prepare For

As major reforms to UK employment law continue to roll out under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers and HR teams must take action now to ensure their policies and procedures are up to date before key provisions come into force this spring.

From April 2026, a number of significant changes will affect workplaces across the country, including:

• ✅ Day one rights for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave – removing minimum service requirements so employees can access these from their first day on the job.
• 🩹 Statutory sick pay (SSP) from day one of illness, with the lower earnings threshold and three-day waiting period removed – meaning more workers will be eligible sooner.
• 👶 Strengthened protections and flexibility around family leave and care rights, including changes to how parental and paternity leave can be taken.
• 📊 Doubling of protective awards for collective redundancy consultation failures and enhanced whistleblowing safeguards.

With the Act introducing the most wide-ranging employment law reforms in years, organisations are strongly advised to review and update employee handbooks, leave policies, SSP arrangements, and contractual documentation ahead of the April changes.

For a full breakdown of all the upcoming changes and timelines, visit the Acas page on the Employment Rights Act 2025.

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