Employment law changes in April 2026: What you need to know
Employment law in 2026 is set to undergo one of the most significant rounds of legislative reform seen in many years. The scale and scope of the upcoming changes - driven by the Employment Rights Act 2025 - mean that organisations of all sizes will need to take a more proactive approach to reviewing policies, updating procedures, and ensuring compliance.
Read on to learn what these changes mean for employers and how your business can begin preparing.
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April 2026 changes
Day-one rights to paternity and parental leave
Entitlement to both paternity and parental leave will no longer depend on an employee having accrued a specific period of qualifying service - employees will be entitled to these rights from their first day of employment.
Ability to take paternity leave following shared parental leave
The restriction preventing employees from taking paternity leave following shared parental leave will be removed.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) - removing previous barriers to entitlement
SSP will become payable from day one of sickness absence (employees will no longer be required to serve three waiting days before SSP becomes payable). In addition to this, the lower earnings limit that determined whether an employee was eligible to receive SSP will no longer apply. All employees, regardless of how much they earn, will be entitled to SSP from the first day of absence.
Sexual harassment becomes a protected disclosure in its own right
Currently, an employee may be protected as a whistleblower if they report sexual harassment, but this is not absolute. Under the new rules, the act of reporting sexual harassment will be specifically considered as a protected disclosure on its own, subject to the existing conditions for all types of whistleblowing complaints.
Increase to protective award in collective redundancy
Employees that are subject to a collective redundancy process are entitled to be compensated if their employer did not comply with legal requirements known as “collective consultation”. The compensation awarded is referred to as a “protective award” and is currently set at 90 days’ pay per employee. This will be increased to 180 days. This is intended to strengthen the deterrent against employers failing to follow consultation rules.
Creation of the Fair Work Agency
A new enforcement body will be created called the Fair Work Agency ('the Agency'). It will have a wide array of responsibility and powers including enforcing wages owed to employees (for example, enforcing minimum wage and holiday pay), raising employment tribunal claims on behalf of employees in certain circumstances, obtaining documents and entering business premises for inspections. Detailed regulations setting out their powers are awaited and it will take some time for the Agency to become fully operational.
Statutory trade union recognition (amendment to threshold)
The current position for a trade union that wants to be recognised by an employer for the purposes of collective bargaining on behalf of the workers in a bargaining unit, is that, where the employer refuses to recognise it, it must make an application to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) and must be able to show the CAC that at least 10% of the workers in the bargaining area are members of the union. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces the possibility that the 10% threshold could be amended through secondary legislation to anywhere between 2% and 10% in the future.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 further removes the requirement at the application stage for a trade union to demonstrate that there is likely to be majority support for recognition and also removes the 40% support threshold from recognition ballots.
Electronic balloting
The Government is committed to introducing secure electronic balloting for statutory trade union ballots, replacing the postal ballot system that has been in use for decades. This reform aims to make the balloting process faster, more secure, and more accessible to employees.
Further changes ahead
There will be a raft of further changes in October 2026 and in 2027. These include:
Harassment prevention
Employers face a duty to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment, including from third parties (customers/clients).
Fire and rehire restricted
Making it significantly harder for employers to change contracts by dismissal and re-engagement.
Union rights
Employers must inform staff of their right to join a union, with easier union recognition processes.
Employment tribunal claims
Time limit for raising employment tribunal claims extends from three to six months.
Unfair dismissal claims
The qualifying period of employment required to bring a claim for unfair dismissal will be reduced from two years to six months. It is anticipated that the change to the qualifying period will be brought in from January 2027, so employees joining from July 2026 are likely to be in scope. In addition, the cap on compensatory awards (currently the lower of 52 weeks’ pay or £118,223) will also be removed.
What employers should be doing now
The changes taking effect from April 2026 represent a fundamental shift in UK employment law, significantly expanding employee rights and strengthening enforcement. For employers, this is not simply a matter of updating contracts at the last minute. The scale of reform under the Employment Rights Act 2025 means organisations will need to plan early, review existing policies and procedures, and embed compliance into day-to-day operations.
Key priorities should include understanding the detailed changes, reviewing family-leave policies to reflect new day-one entitlements, updating sickness absence rules and SSP entitlement, and strengthening whistleblowing and anti-harassment frameworks to manage increased legal risk. Employers involved in restructuring or redundancy exercises should also reassess consultation processes and timings given the doubling of protective awards.
The creation of the Fair Work Agency, alongside expanded union rights and enforcement powers, signals a more proactive regulatory environment. Employers should expect greater scrutiny, faster enforcement action, and fewer procedural barriers for employees bringing claims.
Employers who act now by auditing policies, training managers, and seeking specialist advice will be far better placed to adapt smoothly, avoid costly disputes, and maintain compliant and resilient workplaces as the new legal framework takes effect.
Dates reflected in this article detail the Government’s intentions at the time of publication and may be subject to change. This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information is accurate at the time of writing but may be subject to change. For advice specific to your situation, please consult a qualified professional.