Key Employment Law Changes Coming in April 2026

Changes from 1st April 2026

• Repeal of the levy that trade unions and employer associations pay to the Certification Officer.

Changes from 6th April 2026

• Day-one parental leave.

• Day-one paternity leave, and the ability to take paternity leave after a period of shared parental leave. Under transitional provisions set out in Schedule 1 to the Commencement No 1 Regulations, the paternity leave provisions only apply in relation to:

  • Children born on or after 6 April 2026.

  • Children born prior to 6 April but whose EWC starts on or after 5 April 2026.

  • Children placed for adoption on or after that date (or who enter Great Britain on or after that date in an overseas adoption case).

  • Children whose primary carer dies on or after that date (regardless of the date of birth, EWC or placement).

• Statutory trade union recognition: simplification – changes to the percentage threshold for the CAC to accept a trade union application.

• Voluntary action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through the menopause (for employers with 250 employees or more).

• Increase to the maximum protective award for failure to collectively consult from 90 to 180 days’ pay.

• The definition of a “qualifying disclosure” will be amended to include a disclosure that sexual harassment “has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur.”

• Obligation on employers to keep certain records relating to compliance with annual leave and pay for annual leave for six years from the date they were made.

6th April changes to SSP entitlement

Statutory Sick Pay will be paid from the first day of sickness, instead of the fourth day and the lower earnings limit will be removed.

6th April SSP rates

From 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay will be either:

• 80% of the worker's average weekly earnings

• £123.25 per week

Eligible workers will be entitled to whichever rate is lower. It will be paid from the first day of sickness absence.

Changes from 7th April 2026

The Fair Work Agency will be established.

Next steps for employers

To prepare for the April 2026 employment law changes, employers should:

• Review their contractual documentation, staff handbooks and workplace policies to ensure they reflect the upcoming reforms.

• Check payroll and absence reporting systems to ensure that SSP pay and entitlement will be paid and calculated correctly.

• Monitor sickness absence levels going forward. The removal of SSP thresholds may lead to increased ad hoc absence.

• Review their sickness absence policy to ensure it provides clear processes for managing absence.

• Review their data retention policies to reflect the new obligations to retain working time records to demonstrate compliance with annual leave and pay.