Important Employment Rights Act changes coming this April

Significant changes are happening in the world of HR and Employment law, with the Employment Rights Act 2025 passing at the end of last year. Its many amendments are coming into force over the course of the next two years, with the first significant changes happening in April 2026.   

Citation HR clients will have access to a full guide on the Employment Rights Act 2025, along with regular updates as its provisions are clarified and come into force.  

However, below is a summary of the most important April 2026 changes. Let’s take a look. 

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) 

Increase in the occasions when SSP is payable for a period of sickness absence by: 

• removing the three unpaid ‘waiting days’ at the beginning of a period of sickness absence; and 

• removing the requirement to earn at least the Lower Earnings Limit before qualifying for SSP. However, lower earners will receive either the usual rate of SSP or 80% of their wages, whichever is the lower. 

Parental leave and paternity leave 

From April, it will be a day-one employment right for employees to take statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave. 

Increase of collective redundancy penalties 

Collective redundancy rules apply where an employer is proposing to make 20 or more employees redundant. The maximum penalty for breaching these rules is rising from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay per employee. 

Trade unions 

It will be simpler for a trade union to be recognised in the workplace. 

Whistleblowing  

Certain disclosures about sexual harassment will be classed as protected whistleblowing. 

Fair Work Agency 

April 2026 sees the establishment of the Fair Work Agency, which will bring employment government enforcement under one roof.  It will have the right to bring Tribunal claims on behalf of employees and recover enforcement costs from employers in a similar way to the HSE’s ‘Fees for Intervention’ scheme.