Employment Rights Act 2025: Changes From April 2026 And Actions For Employers

From April 6, 2026, employee rights to statutory paternity leave, parental leave and statutory sick pay (SSP) have changed, requiring employers to review existing policies.

A new enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency (FWA) was also set up. In addition, Equality Action Plans (EAPs) for employers with 250 or more staff were introduced, on a voluntary basis. EAPs will become mandatory in 2027 for businesses which meet the employee threshold.

Family leave policy changes from April 2026

Statutory paternity leave

This is now a day-one right, rather than requiring a qualifying period of 26 weeks service. This leave can also now be taken after a period of shared parental leave.

Unpaid parental leave

This is now a day-one right, rather than requiring a year's service. Parental leave is the right to 18 weeks' unpaid leave for the purpose of looking after a child under 18 (capped at four weeks per year per child).

Statutory sick pay

SSP is now available to all workers from day-one of employment, removing the previous three-day waiting period. The requirement for people to earn above the lower earnings limit (currently GBP129) before they are eligible, is also abolished. Instead, low earners will be paid SSP at 80% of their normal weekly earnings, or the flat rate of GBP123.25 a week, whichever is lower.

Action points for employers:

• Review and amend policies for paternity leave and parental leave, to reflect the removal of the qualifying period.

• Make managers aware of the change and make sure requests for paternity leave and parental leave are dealt with accordingly.

• Amend contracts, as appropriate, to refer to SSP as a day-one right.

• Calculate rate of SSP correctly for low earners, review payroll systems.

Equality Action Plans

From spring 2027 it will be mandatory for employers with 250 or more employees to publish yearly action plans, alongside their gender pay gap report, showing steps its organisation is taking to reduce its gender pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause.

From April 6, 2026 such employers may voluntarily develop and publish an action plan by April 4, 2027 (for private organizations). The Government has published guidance on recommended actions employers can take and supplemental detailed guidance on six steps to creating an action plan.

What employers need to do to prepare

• Identify the causes of any gender pay gap or how employees might be impacted by menopause at work e.g. by talking to staff or using workforce data

• Choose at least two of 18 actions identified by the Government, to address each of the issues e.g. recruiting or promoting staff, increasing transparency and supporting women with health conditions and menopause. This includes a narrative explaining how the action was chosen and how progress will be tracked

• Employers must submit the action plan to a public portal, track outcomes to test progress against each action and review and update the plan yearly

• Engage senior leaders, line managers and employees in the development and implementation of their plans.

Although not yet mandatory, in-scope organizations should consider their response to the new requirements to ensure readiness to produce action plans in 2027.

Fair Work Agency (FWA)

This new enforcement authority was established on April 7, 2026. It incorporates existing agencies and will be responsible for enforcing rights including national minimum wage, modern slavery breaches, statutory sick pay, holiday pay and general record-keeping obligations. When enforcement provisions are fully in force, the FWA will have the power to enter and inspect workplaces for compliance, issue notices, impose penalties or bring court proceedings.

Action by employers

Ensure compliance with current legal obligations to minimise risk of FWA breaches:

• audit and ensure clear records of minimum wage and holiday pay for irregular or zero hours workers

• train managers to reduce risk of non-compliance by organizations.