Top 10 April 2026 Employment Law Changes

1. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): Day‑One Eligibility for all and New SSP Rate

From 6 April 2026, SSP becomes available to more workers.

Key legal changes

• SSP becomes payable from the first day of sickness absence, removing the three‑day qualifying period
• All workers (remember the eligibility for SSP is wider than just employees), regardless of earnings, qualify for SSP, as the lower earnings limit is removed
• SSP is paid at the lower of the standard rate or 80% of average weekly earnings for low earners (calculated by reference to an 8-week earnings reference period)
• Sickness certification rules remain unchanged

Statutory rate increase (April 2026)

• SSP increases from £118.75 to £123.25 per week

HR Actions:

• Update sickness and absence policies
• Notify payroll – remember the changes happen from 6 April, regardless of whether the employee is on a “waiting day” on that date
• Review sickness absence policies and reporting more generally
• Update contracts (or communicate SSP changes) with the new SSP payment rules
• Review/run manager training on managing absence
• Consider business costs/impact of increased SSP
• Ensure any enhanced employer sick pay states it is inclusive of SSP

2. Statutory Paternity Leave and Parental Leave: To be a Day‑One Right

From 6 April 2026:

• In respect of statutory paternity leave
• The 26‑week qualifying service requirement is removed, making paternity leave a day‑one entitlement
• This change applies to births or placements for adoption on/after 6 April 2026 (or where the expected week of childbirth is on or after 6 April 2026 but the child is born early)
• The prohibition on taking paternity leave following shared parental leave is also removed
• The qualifying period of service and eligibility requirements for Statutory Paternity Pay remain unchanged
• In respect of statutory parental leave
• The one‑year service requirement to take parental leave is abolished
• Remember, parental leave remains unpaid (unless the employer chooses to enhance)
• Also parental leave does not “reset” with each employment so check to see if an employee has taken parental leave with a previous employer

HR Actions:

• Update family‑friendly policies
• Review leave requests and procedures
• Increase awareness of the changes to your management population
• Update HR systems

3. Statutory Payment Rates Changes

From 6 April 2026, the following statutory payments will rise from £187.18 to £194.32 per week:

• Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
• Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP)
• Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP)

For Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP), this is payable as follows: the first 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings (AWE) and the remaining 33 weeks at the new rate of £194.32 or 90% AWE, whichever is lower (always check eligibility requirements).

The Lower Earnings Limit (or LEL) increases from £125 to £129 per week.

HR Actions:

• Ensure payroll/HR systems reflect updated rates and thresholds
• Although not advisable, if your internal policies include annual statutory payment rates, make sure these are updated also

4. NEW Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave

From 6 April 2026, a bereaved father or partner is entitled to take up to 52 weeks of unpaid paternity leave where the mother or primary adopter dies within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption. This fills a gap in the family leave rights for bereaved partners and means those who do not qualify for shared parental leave will be able to take time off, albeit unpaid.

HR Actions:

• Update policies to highlight this new leave entitlement

5. Collective Redundancy: Protective Award Doubles

From 6 April 2026:

• The maximum protective award increases from 90 to 180 days’ pay for failing to collectively consult. Remember this is actual pay (i.e. not capped) and a wider class of “affected employees” (not just those being made redundant) can bring a claim for a protective award

HR Actions:

• Review and strengthen collective consultation processes
• Ensure manager awareness
• Factor in costs, risks and calculations
• Check processes when managing collective (and individual) redundancies to ensure compliance
• Take advice

6. Whistleblowing and Sexual Harassment

From 6 April 2026, disclosures relating to sexual harassment will become formally recognised as qualifying whistleblowing disclosure. The disclosure must still meet the existing statutory requirements for it to qualify as a protected disclosure, for example, the disclosure must be to a “prescribed person” and also meet the “public interest” test.

HR Actions:

• Update whistleblowing and anti‑harassment procedures
• Review preventative measures with regards to both harassment and sexual harassment (i.e. policies, how to raise concerns, key risk areas)
• Update risk assessments (in line with preventative duty in relation to sexual harassment)
• Train managers as to their obligations, potential liability and risk
• Also note the changes to both sexual harassment and third party harassment from October 2026 and take advice accordingly

7. Voluntary Menopause & Gender Equality Action Plans for larger employers (for now)

From 6 April 2026, employers may adopt voluntary action plans covering:

• Menopause support, and
• Gender‑equality workforce outcomes

These measures, introduced on a voluntary basis from April 2026, are intended to prepare employers for more prescriptive requirements expected in 2027 if they meet the 250+ employee threshold. Employers may choose to action at least one of the recommendations set out in the relevant Government guidance in relation to action planning (Note - this requirement will be mandatory from 2027 for employers with 250+employees).

HR Actions:

• Review the Government guidance on action plans - and list of actions
• Decide if your business meets the employee number threshold (do you want to publish voluntarily now?)
• Develop or review a menopause policy and think about equality/menopause strategies more generally
• Provide manager training
• Begin internal analysis of gender equality data and workplace support structures

8. Additional April 2026 Rate/Payment Changes

• The National Living Wage (NLW) for those aged 21 and over increases to £12.71 per hour and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for those aged 18 to 20 increases to £10.85 from 1 April 2026
• For dismissals on/after 6 April 2026 (until the cap is removed from 1 January 2027), the maximum compensation cap in unfair dismissal claims increases to £123,543 or 52 weeks’ gross pay, whichever is the lower. Please note (1) that this “cap” does not apply to certain dismissals e.g., protected disclosures (whistleblowing), and (2) a failure to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures may lead to compensation being increased (or decreased) by up to 25%
• Again for dismissals on/after 6 April 2026 a week’s pay (e.g. for statutory redundancy payments and unfair dismissal basic award) increases to £751)

9. NEW Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) - Keeping holiday and holiday pay records

From 6 April 2026, employers will be required to keep records which show, for their workers, (1) what their statutory annual leave entitlement is (2) what leave has been taken during the relevant holiday year and (3) how their holiday pay has been calculated and paid. The records must also cover what payments in lieu have been given for untaken holiday when a worker leaves. A worker’s holiday pay should be calculated and paid by reference to their actual pay, which includes such payments as overtime or other variable payments. Records must be retained for six years and must be sufficient to demonstrate whether employers have complied with workers’ entitlements. Failure to comply with these new WTR requirements is an offence which may lead to unlimited fines.

HR Action points

• Review and audit current records for monitoring holiday entitlement and pay
• Check that workers are paid holiday pay by reference to actual earnings (calculated by reference to their previous 52 weeks’ pay)
• Set up a mechanism for recording holiday entitlement and holiday pay

10. Fair Work Agency Launches and other changes (including immigration)

• A new employment‑rights enforcement body launches on 7 April 2026. It will unite multiple bodies, including HMRC’s National Minimum Wage team, to crack down on exploitation by enforcing minimum wage, holiday pay, Statutory Sick Pay, and modern slavery regulations.
• Certification Officer Levy Repeal - Levy paid by unions and employer associations repealed on 1 April 2026.
• The Home Office quietly updated various sponsor guidance documents on 6 March, which specifically introduce a new requirement for sponsors to retain evidence that they have informed their sponsored employees or workers about their employment rights in the UK. This includes but is not limited to advising workers on: (1) their entitlement to National Minimum Wage (2) compliance with the Working Time Regulations (3) pension auto-enrolment and opt-outs (4) entitlement to statutory leave and pay (5) health and safety (6) trade union membership, participation in union activities and the rights of trade union representatives (7) duties of the employer under the Equality Act (8) how to raise grievances. Sponsors will be required to show they have HR systems or processes in place to demonstrate they have provided this information to all employees or workers they sponsor and be able to provide clear records of this. For example, copies of any written information provided to workers, contract of employment, employee handbook, onboarding inductions, training videos or awareness courses, etc. There was already a requirement to provide standard particulars of employment, but this change reinforces the point that being a sponsor requires you to comply with much wider employment laws. This update further aligns immigration and employment law, promoting added scrutiny of sponsored roles.

Summary and Next Steps

The next few years will certainly bring challenge uncertainty, but also opportunities for HR and leadership teams. What will be key is having a clear internal implementation timetable and ensuring that managers/leaders (and employees where relevant) are given clear information and training around the changes and their obligations. April 2026 is just the start! For help, advice, training, contract/policy reviews and strategic implementation support, please contact us.