The changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025 are already underway, with most due to take effect at the start of the new tax year in April. This article outlines the employment law changes in April 2026, presenting them in chronological order and explaining their implications for businesses of all sizes.
April Employment Law Changes Employers Should Consider
There will be many changes to employment law in April 2026, starting from the first of the month and continuing until April 7th. These include:
National minimum wage rates
As is the case at the start of each tax year, the earliest employment law change this April will come on the first of the month in the form of an increase in national minimum wage rates. From April 1st, the national living wage for people aged 21 and above will increase by 4.1% to £12.71 per hour, while employees aged 18 to 20 will benefit from an 8.5% increase to £10.85.
Statutory rates
In addition to rising minimum wage rates, the statutory rates for maternity and paternity pay, sick pay and redundancy rates are set to increase from April 5th:
- Weekly rates for maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, neonatal care and parental bereavement pay will increase from £187.18 to £194.32, although the lower earnings limit (LEL) for parents to claim parental pay will rise from £125 to £129 per week.
- Statutory sick pay (SSP) is set to increase from £118.75 to £123.25 per week and from April 6th, employment law changes will remove the LEL requirement for employees to claim this financial support. Anyone below the threshold will receive £123.25 or 80% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
- Employees with at least two years’ continuous service will be entitled to claim redundancy pay relative to their age, length of service and normal weekly earnings. This payment will be capped at £751 per week.
Gender pay gap action plans
While reporting on their gender pay gap is not a new requirement for employers with more than 250 employees, April 2026 will introduce additional voluntary actions that will become mandatory in 2027.
In an effort to promote transparency between employers and their workforce, employers are encouraged to publish the steps they are taking to reduce the gender pay gap, as well as their action plans for supporting employees through the menopause.
Businesses working within the public sector must publish their pay gap data by March 30th 2026, while employers in the private and voluntary sectors have until April 4th to submit their reports.
Paternity leave and parental leave
The first of many employment law changes on April 6th under the ERA 2025 is the abolishment of the 26-week qualifying period for statutory paternal leave. This means that fathers or partners are able to claim paternity leave from day one of their employment, provided the expected week of childbirth or adoption placement is from April 5th 2026 onwards.
Parental leave, which previously required at least one year of employment, will similarly become a day-one right from April 6th. Eligible parents will be allowed to take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave per child under the age of 18, which must be taken in week blocks of no more than four weeks per year. It is important to note that parents are still expected to provide at least 21 days’ notice before taking ordinary parental leave.
Statutory sick pay
In addition to increasing SSP rates and making them available to workers below the LEL, the ERA 2025 will remove the three-day waiting period from April 6th, such that new employees will be eligible to claim SSP from their first day of employment.
Sexual harassment whistleblowing protections
Whereas whistleblowers would previously have been expected to align their sexual harassment complaints with one of the existing protections, from April 6th, employment law will explicitly recognise sexual harassment as a protected whistleblowing disclosure. This means that employees whistleblowing through the correct channels will be safeguarded from detriment, such as being demoted or mistreated, as well as unfair dismissal. While this protection commences from April 6th 2026, employees who have experienced historical sexual harassment will still be eligible for whistleblowing disclosure.
Collective redundancy protective award
Employers could face much higher penalties for failing to comply with collective redundancy consultation rules from April 6th, with the ERA 2025 doubling the maximum employment tribunal awards from 90 to 180 days’ gross pay per employee. While these rules currently only apply when employers are making 20 or more redundancies from the same establishment, the government are currently in talks to reduce the collective redundancy threshold, so this could be subject to change.
Employment tribunal awards
In addition to increasing awards for collective redundancy, the ERA 2025 will be introducing numerous changes to employment tribunal awards on April 6th, increasing the maximum compensatory award ahead of the cap’s complete removal in January 2027. The current basic award is £8,763, while the maximum compensatory award is capped at £118,223 or one year’s salary, whichever is lower, though these rates are set to rise. For more information, please refer to the recently released Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2026.
Trade union recognition
Trade union reforms have been underway since late 2025, reducing the amount of notice needed before taking industrial action and extending the length of strike mandates to 12 months. Further employment law changes on April 6th will simplify the process of unions receiving official recognition within the workplace, as now only 10% of the workforce will need to be members, as opposed to the previous majority requirement. These ‘bargaining units’ will then be able to apply to the Central Arbitration Committee on behalf of their fellow employees.
Rules governing trade union ballots are similarly changing. While 40% of eligible workers were previously expected to vote in favour of strike action, the new changes only require the majority of the bargaining unit to agree for action to go ahead.
Fair Work Agency
The final employment law change this April will arrive on April 7th with the formation of the new government body, the Fair Work Agency (FWA). This body will combine the functions of several existing agencies to give the Department of Business and Trade more power to enforce employment rights directly, rather than relying on employees to bring claims to tribunal. The merged agencies include:
- Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority – This body was previously responsible for tackling labour exploitation.
- Directors of Labour Market Enforcement – This body oversaw compliance with labour laws.
- Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate – This body previously regulated employment agencies.
- HMRC National Minimum Wage Unit – This body was responsible for ensuring employers complied with minimum wage rates.
The business secretary is currently in the process of assembling an advisory board, comprised of businesses, trade unions and independent experts, which will guide the decision-making of the FWA.
Navigate Employment Law Changes with Newtons
At Newtons, we recognise that the employment law changes in April 2026 may create uncertainty for employers and that making sense of the new regulations can be time-consuming for your business. Whether you need support updating your policies and procedures to maintain compliance, or any of these changes have raised concerns for you or your stakeholders, our employment law specialists have the expertise to guide you through this transitional period.
To discuss how we can be of service to your business, or for insights on the upcoming employment law changes in April and beyond, please contact us today.