Employment Rights Act 2025: April 2026 employment law changes – a quick SME employer overview
Employment Rights Act 2025: April 2026 employment law changes
The Employment Rights Bill is now the Employment Rights Act 2025 (in force from 18 December 2025). The reforms are being phased in, with a first set of measures due to take effect from 6 April 2026.
If you employ people in the UK, April 2026 is a key milestone. Below is a brief, overview with links to more detailed guides
Statutory Sick Pay becomes a day one right
From 6 April 2026, SSP will be payable from the first qualifying day of sickness absence, removing the current waiting days. At the same time, the Lower Earnings Limit gateway is removed, bringing more lower-paid and part-time employees into SSP eligibility.
For SMEs, the compliance risk is usually not the maths—it is outdated handbook wording, payroll settings not matching working patterns, and managers giving the wrong steer to employees.
How changes to SSP will increase costs for employers
Paternity leave becomes a day one right
From 6 April 2026, paternity leave becomes available from day one of employment, removing the current qualifying service requirement for statutory paternity leave.
A linked change also removes the current restriction that prevents paternity leave being taken after Shared Parental Leave, giving families more flexibility in how they sequence leave.
This is a practical issue for SMEs because new starters may request paternity leave far earlier than you are used to, and managers need to understand the distinction between eligibility for leave and eligibility for pay (particularly where you offer enhanced benefits).
Unpaid parental leave becomes a day one right
Ordinary (unpaid) parental leave will also become a day one entitlement from 6 April 2026, removing the current qualifying service requirement.
This is often overlooked by SMEs, but it can increase the number of requests—particularly where employees have changed jobs and would previously have been “waiting out” the first year. The key is making sure your process, forms and manager responses are consistent, so the business manages operational impact fairly and predictably.
Collective redundancy: the protective award doubles
From April 2026, the maximum protective award for failing to properly inform and consult in a collective redundancy will increase from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay per affected employee.
For SMEs, this is about risk exposure. Many smaller businesses do not set out to “avoid consultation”—they simply misjudge when collective consultation obligations are triggered, underestimate how quickly numbers can add up across teams, or move too fast under commercial pressure. The doubling of the award materially increases the financial consequences of getting it wrong.
Whistleblowing protections expand to cover sexual harassment disclosures
From April 2026, disclosures about sexual harassment will be expressly protected under whistleblowing law. That means a worker who raises a concern about sexual harassment may benefit from whistleblowing protections against detriment and (for employees) unfair dismissal.
For SMEs, this is less about changing your values (most employers already treat harassment seriously) and more about tightening the way concerns are received, triaged and documented. The legal risk often arises in the “in-between” period—rota changes, reporting line adjustments, performance conversations—where an employee later alleges retaliation for speaking up.
Trade union law changes: recognition and balloting reform
April 2026 is also bringing a host of trade union changes including simplifying the statutory recognition process and introducing electronic voting for statutory union ballots.
Alongside this, government has consulted on a statutory Code of Practice covering electronic and workplace balloting to support lawful, fair and secure balloting arrangements.
Even if you do not recognise a union, this is relevant because employees may still involve unions and managers need to respond consistently and calmly. For many SMEs, the biggest risk is not “unionisation”; it is an ad hoc reaction that creates employee relations problems or legal exposure.
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