Employment Rights Act 2025: April changes
Paternity leave and parental leave
Both paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become a day 1 right on 6 April. Currently, to access these leaves, employees must have 26 weeks or 1 year's service respectively. The restriction on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will also be removed.
Statutory Sick Pay
From 6 April the waiting days for payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be removed, meaning it will be paid from day 1 of illness rather than the current day 4. The lower earnings limit, which is the minimum amount a worker must earn to be eligible for SSP, will also be removed.
Collective redundancy protective award
The maximum protective award for failure to comply with collective redundancy consultation requirements will double from 90 days of gross pay to 180 days of gross pay with effect from 6 April.
Whistleblowing
Reports of sexual harassment will be explicitly protected as qualifying disclosures for whistleblowing purposes with effect from 6 April. This will make it easier for those reporting sexual harassment to rely on protection from detriment and dismissal.
Changes to holiday pay and holiday pay record-keeping
Employment Rights Act Commencement Regulations made on 16 March will bring into effect from 6 April a new duty on employers to maintain records of annual leave and associated payments. The implementation of this measure could easily have been overlooked, with no UK government announcement nor mention of it in the recently amended implementation timetable. The duty requires employers to keep records that are "adequate" enough to demonstrate compliance with workers' rights to paid leave under the Working Time Regulations. Records must be kept for all eligible workers, including part-year workers and those working irregular hours. Employers must retain these records for six years. Failure to comply with this requirement will be a criminal offence punishable by a fine.
Trade union recognition
With effect from 6 April the process for recognising trade unions within a workplace will be simplified. Requirements relating to minimum ballot thresholds and the removal of a likely majority test when a recognition application is submitted will make the process more straightforward for unions. The introduction of electronic and workplace balloting intended for April has been delayed and will be brought in through phases later in 2026 and in 2027.
Fair Work Agency
The Fair Work Agency will be established with effect from 7 April 2026. The Agency will bring together several existing enforcement bodies and will become responsible for the enforcement of certain fundamental rights, including national minimum wage, holiday pay and SSP.
Gender pay gap and menopause action plans
From April 2027 large employers will be required to produce gender pay gap and menopause action plans. A voluntary reporting period will begin from April 2026.
Other April changes
Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024
Bereaved fathers or partners already have a day 1 right to paternity leave and the right to take that leave after a period of shared parental leave. However, from 6 April they will be able to take 52 weeks of unpaid bereaved partner paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter has died. The leave must be taken within 52 weeks of the birth, including surrogacy, adoption placement or entry to Great Britain for overseas adoptions. These rights will be implemented via regulations and will apply to children born on or after 6 April 2026, with an expected week of childbirth starting on or after 5 April 2026, or where the mother or primary adopter dies on or after 6 April 2026. The draft regulations also provide entitlement to take up to 8 weeks of bereaved paternity leave where the child also dies.
National living and national minimum wage
The annual changes to the national living wage (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW) will take effect on 1 April. As of that date:
- NLW for those aged 21 and over will increase from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour
- NMW for those aged 18 to 20 will increase from £10.00 to £10.85 per hour
- NMW for those aged 16 and 17 and apprentices aged under 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship will increase from £7.55 to £8.00 per hour
Looking further ahead, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) annual report proposed reducing eligibility for NLW to age 20 in 2027. It also proposed lowering the age again to 18 in either 2028 or 2029, subject to economic conditions and government policy. A consultation on this approach will take place in due course. A separate LPC report will respond to the UK Government's request to identify criteria that would need to be met for the NLW to increase beyond two-thirds of median earnings during this Parliament.
Statutory benefits
SSP will increase from £118.75 to £123.25 per week. Statutory maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and parental bereavement pay will increase from £187.18 to £194.32 per week. These changes are expected to take effect from 6 April 2026.
Employment tribunal compensation
The annual Employment Tribunal award limit changes apply to dismissals taking place on or after 6 April 2026. The limit on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increase to £123,543 (or 52 weeks pay based on gross salary prior to dismissal, including employer pension contribution but excluding benefits in kind and discretionary bonus, whichever is the lower).
The limit on a week's pay (used for calculating statutory redundancy payments and the basic award for unfair dismissal) will increase from £719 to £751 meaning that the maximum basic award and maximum statutory redundancy payment increases to £22,530.
From 1 January 2027, the limit on the compensatory award will be removed.
Guidelines for injury to feelings awards
An award for injury to feelings compensates for injury caused by discrimination. It is separate from any award for financial loss and can be made even where no financial loss has been suffered. The Court of Appeal set out guidance for quantifying these awards, known as the Vento bands.
The updated bands, for claims presented on or after 6 April 2026, are:
- Lower band (less serious cases) £1,300 to £12,600
- Middle band (cases that do not merit an award in the upper band) £12,600 to £37,700
- Upper band (most serious cases) £37,700 to £62,900
Awards of more than £62,900 will be made only in the most exceptional cases.
Gender pay gap reporting
The gender pay gap reporting deadline for public sector employers is 30 March, using 31 March 2025 as the snapshot date.
The deadline for private companies and voluntary organisations with 250 or more staff is 4 April, using a snapshot date of 5 April 2025. Progress remains slow on narrowing and eliminating the gender pay gap and it is hoped that the introduction of a requirement for gender equality action plans will have a positive effect. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces this requirement from April 2027 but employers are encouraged to produce these plans voluntarily from this year.
