The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and has been described by the government as the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in a generation. For UK employers, that is not hyperbole, it is a compliance challenge that is already live and will continue to unfold in waves through 2026 and into 2027. The first tranche of changes came into force on 6 April 2026. More follow in October 2026. The headline reforms, including the reduction of the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months land in January 2027.
This matters right now because many employers are either unaware of what has already changed, or are treating the April 2026 changes as minor administrative updates. They are not. Taken together, the April changes have already increased the financial exposure of non-compliance, expanded the scope of statutory entitlements, and created new obligations around record-keeping and reporting. For businesses that have not yet reviewed their employment contracts, payroll processes, HR policies, and management practices in light of the Act, the window to do so without risk is closing fast.
This guide covers every significant change in the 2026 timetable, what each one means in practice, and the concrete steps your business should be taking to remain compliant and to avoid what has become a considerably more expensive set of consequences for getting it wrong.
What Has Already Changed: April 2026
Statutory Sick Pay: Paid from Day One, for Everyone
This is the change with the widest immediate payroll impact. From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the first day of absence, the previous three-day waiting period has been abolished. Simultaneously, the lower earnings limit that previously disqualified lower-paid employees from SSP eligibility has been removed. Employees who earn below the lower earnings threshold now receive SSP at 80 percent of their average weekly earnings or the flat SSP rate, whichever is lower.
For businesses with high levels of short-term or intermittent absence, particularly in retail, hospitality, social care, and logistics, this change has a direct and immediate cost implication. Any employer whose sick pay policy was structured around the old waiting day framework needs to have updated it already. If you have not, your payroll is currently non-compliant. Equally, any contractual sick pay schemes that were designed to run concurrently with the old SSP structure need to be reviewed to ensure they remain appropriate under the new rules.
Day One Rights for Paternity and Parental Leave
From 6 April 2026, both statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are Day 1 rights. The previous qualifying periods, 26 weeks for paternity leave and one year for unpaid parental leave no longer apply. Employees can give notice of their intention to take either type of leave from their first day of employment, with leave itself available from 6 April 2026.
In practice, this means that a new employee hired in their first week can immediately trigger a paternity leave entitlement if they have a qualifying event. Employers should anticipate an increase in requests, particularly in the first months following this change and ensure their HR teams and line managers understand the new rules, the notice requirements, and that rejecting a valid request carries legal exposure. Employment contracts and family-friendly policies that reference the old qualifying periods need to be updated immediately.
Collective Redundancy, Doubled Financial Exposure
From 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award for failure to properly consult in collective redundancy situations has doubled from 90 days to 180 days of full pay per affected employee. For any employer contemplating redundancies involving 20 or more employees within a 90-day period, this change makes the financial consequences of a procedural failure significantly more severe.
Collective consultation compliance has always been complex, covering the election of appropriate employee representatives, the scope and duration of consultation, and the information employers must provide and employment tribunals have historically found in favour of employees in cases where process has not been followed correctly. At the new exposure level, a failure that affects even a moderate number of employees could result in a financial award that is deeply damaging to a business. If your organisation is considering any restructuring in 2026, legal and HR review of your collective consultation process is not optional.
Sexual Harassment: Strengthened Whistleblowing Protection
From 6 April 2026, a disclosure of information relating to sexual harassment now qualifies as a protected disclosure under whistleblowing law. This means that any employee who reports sexual harassment, whether of themselves or others is protected against dismissal and detriment on the grounds of having made that disclosure. The public interest test still applies, but the practical effect is that the reporting of sexual harassment now carries the full suite of whistleblowing protections.
This change strengthens the position of employees reporting harassment and raises the legal risk for employers who are seen to take adverse action, formally or informally against a whistleblower. Employers should review their whistleblowing and anti-harassment policies to ensure they reflect the expanded scope of protected disclosures, and should train line managers on what this means for how they respond to and manage disclosures of sexual harassment.
What Is Coming: October 2026
The October 2026 changes are primarily focused on trade union rights and employer obligations around worker information. From October 2026, employers will have a new duty to inform all workers of their right to join a trade union, a requirement that will need to be reflected in offer letters, employment contracts, or onboarding documentation. Updated rules on trade union access to the workplace, enhanced rights for trade union representatives, and a new Code of Practice on trade union recognition all take effect in October.
For most employers outside heavily unionised sectors, the October changes are less immediately disruptive than the April package but the duty to inform workers of their union rights is universal and applies to every employer regardless of sector or size. Building this into your standard onboarding process now, ahead of October, is straightforward and removes any risk of non-compliance when the obligation activates.
What Is to be Expected: January 2027
The most widely discussed change, the reduction of the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months is confirmed for January 2027. Alongside it, the cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal will be removed entirely, meaning that in high-earning cases, awards could be substantially higher than under the current capped regime.
The practical implication of the six-month qualifying period is significant for almost every employer in the UK. Currently, businesses can manage underperforming or poor-fit employees in their first two years with relatively limited exposure to unfair dismissal claims. From January 2027, that window reduces to six months. Probationary periods, performance management frameworks, and documentation standards will all need to be reviewed and tightened to reflect the much shorter period of relative flexibility that employers will retain.
The government has confirmed that there will be a statutory probationary period framework, but the details are still being consulted on. Employers should begin reviewing their current probationary period practices, performance review processes, and HR documentation nowbecause the January 2027 deadline is less than eight months away and preparation takes time to embed across a business.
The Broader Picture: Zero-Hours Contracts and Flexible Working
The Employment Rights Act also contains provisions that will address exploitative zero-hours contracts, a change that will affect businesses in hospitality, retail, logistics, and social care in particular. The legislation requires employers to offer guaranteed hours contracts to zero-hours and low-hours workers who regularly work a consistent pattern, with enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance. The precise implementation framework is still being finalised through consultation, but employers who rely heavily on zero-hours arrangements should begin reviewing their workforce structure now.
On flexible working, the Act strengthens employees’ rights to request it. Employers will only be able to reject a flexible working request where they can demonstrate both a statutory ground for refusal and that it is reasonable to refuse. The bar for refusal is now higher, and employers who reject requests without a clear and documented justification face tribunal exposure. Flexible working processes and line manager training need to reflect this change.
Conclusion
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is not a distant challenge on the horizon. Multiple obligations are already live as of April 2026 and the businesses that treat this as something to deal with later are accumulating risk with every week that passes. The combination of expanded SSP, Day 1 parental rights, doubled collective redundancy awards, and strengthened whistleblowing protections means that employment decisions being made right now are subject to rules that many businesses have not yet fully embedded into their practices.
The path forward is not complicated, but it requires deliberate action: audit your employment contracts, update your policies, brief your managers, review your payroll, and build a clear timeline for the October 2026 and January 2027 changes. The businesses that do this work now will be well-positioned. Those that do not will find out the hard way that the new regime has teeth.
Need support navigating the Employment Rights Act 2026? Sea-Faj Consult UK provides HR compliance reviews, contract updates and workforce advisory for UK employers. Contact us at uk.sea-fajconsult.com or call +447851321594 to speak with our specialist.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When did the Employment Rights Act come into force?
The Act became law on 18 December 2025, with the first major changes taking effect on 6 April 2026.
2. Does SSP now apply to all employees from day one?
Yes, from 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from the first day of sickness with no waiting period and no lower earnings limit.
3. When does the unfair dismissal qualifying period change?
January 2027, reducing from two years to six months, with the compensation cap also removed at that point.
4. Do zero-hours contract workers have new rights?
Yes, the Act requires employers to offer guaranteed-hours contracts to workers with a consistent regular pattern, with final implementation details still being consulted on.
5. What should employers do right now?
Audit employment contracts, update sick pay and parental leave policies, brief line managers, and begin preparing for the January 2027 unfair dismissal changes.