As we look forward to spring and the promise of brighter weather, organisations should prepare for an exceptionally busy April this year.  A range of important employment law changes takes effect this month, including updated statutory rates, enhanced family leave under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) and new legislation that affects employers across a number of key areas.

For employers, the priority is clear: review policies, update payroll and HR processes, and ensure managers understand the practical impact of the new rules.  Sophia Radford, Solicitor in Blanchards Bailey’s Employment Law team, explains these changes in detail.

Statutory Rates from April 2026

The Government has announced new statutory rates effective this month. Employers must ensure that payroll systems, internal policies and relevant procedures are adjusted to reflect the new figures.

From 1 April 2026

The following National Minimum Wage increases applied from 1 April 2026:

• Age 21 and over:  from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour
• Age 18 to 20:  from £10 to £10.85 per hour
• Age 16 to 17 and apprentices: from £7.55 to £8.00 per hour

From the same date, the accommodation offset increased from £10.66 to £11.10 per hour.

Whilst it is not a statutory requirement, the Real Living Wage is also increased from £12.60 to £13.45 per hour outside of London, and from £13.85 to £14.80 per hour in London.

From 6 April 2026

From 6 April 2026, the following new statutory rates for sick pay and family leave pay applied:

• Statutory maternity pay: £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week*
• Statutory paternity pay:  £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week*
• Statutory shared parental pay: £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week*
• Statutory adoption pay: £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week*
• Statutory parental bereavement pay: £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week*
• Statutory neonatal care leave pay: £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week*

*Note: Or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower.  The average gross weekly earnings threshold required to qualify for family leave pay increases from £125.00 or more per week to £129.00 or more per week.

Statutory sick pay (SSP) increases from £118.75 to £123.25 per week.  Forthcoming legislation also extended SSP entitlement to employees earning below the Lower Earnings Limit. In those cases, affected employees are entitled to the lower of the SSP weekly rate or 80 per cent of their average earnings.

Draft Regulations came into force on 6 April 2026, also re-rated a number of National Insurance thresholds and contribution rates, including:

• an increase to the Class 2 small profits threshold from £6,845 to £7,105
• an increase in the weekly Class 2 contribution rate from £3.50 to £3.65
• an increase to voluntary Class 3 contributions from £17.75 to £18.40

Most Class 1 earnings thresholds remained unchanged, with the exception of the Lower Earnings Limit, which increased to £129 per week. The Regulations also extended the zero-rate secondary Class 1 National Insurance relief for employers of qualifying armed forces veterans through the 2026–27 and 2027–28 tax years and allow for continued Treasury grant payments into the National Insurance Fund.

Employment Rights Act 2025: April 2026 Changes Employers Should Know

The Government first published its proposed timeline for implementing measures under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) back in July 2025 and this has now been updated in February 2026. In broad terms, the delay in the passing of the Employment Rights Bill has not led to any subsequent delay in the proposed timelines as outlined in the proposed road map, although there are two notable timetable changes.

• The new restrictions on ‘fire and rehire’ dismissals, originally expected in October 2026, will now take effect in January 2027.
• The introduction of electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots, originally planned for April 2026, has been delayed until August 2026.

Now that the implementation of timelines has been confirmed, employers should focus on the April 2026 changes and the practical steps needed to prepare:

‘Day 1’ Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave

At present, fathers are required to have 26 weeks’ continuous service to qualify for paid paternity leave. From 6 April 2026, this qualifying period of service is removed and paternity leave becomes a ‘day one right’, allowing someone to give notice of leave from the first day of employment.  

Ordinary parental leave also becomes a ‘day one right’.  Currently, an employee must have worked for their employer for one year to be eligible.

Importantly, the notice periods are not changing.  Employees are still required to give 15 weeks’ statutory notice to take paternity or parental leave.

Paternity leave and shared parental leave

The ERA 2025 removes the restriction on taking paternity leave after paid shared parental leave. This allows parents to take paternity leave and pay after their shared parental leave and pay, giving partners more flexibility over how and when they take their leave. 

These new rules apply to babies born on or after 6 April 2026, or where the expected week of birth falls on or after that date, but the baby is born early. In adoption cases, the changes apply to placements on or after 6 April 2026.

Additionally, legislation that came into force on 29 December 2025 will introduce a new right to Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave, providing up to 52 weeks’ leave for fathers and partners whose partner dies before their child’s first birthday. 

What employers should do: review and update their family leave polices, communicate the new entitlements clearly, and prepare for increased uptake of leave.

Whistleblowing and Sexual Harassment Disclosures

Sexual harassment becomes a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law. A disclosure does not have to be substantiated at the point it is made, and any dismissal connected to such a disclosure is automatically unfair.

This change strengthens protection from detriment and unfair dismissal for whistleblowers making a sexual harassment disclosure.

What employers should do

• Update whistleblowing and harassment policies
• Ensure managers understand what qualifies as a protected disclosure.

Statutory Sick Pay Reform

From 6 April 2026, all workers become eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the first day of illness, instead of the fourth day. The lower earnings limit was also removed.  Currently, workers must earn a minimum amount to be eligible for statutory sick pay.

SSP is payable at the lower of:

• 80% of the worker’s usual earnings, based on average weekly earnings over an eight-week reference period; or
• the statutory SSP flat rate of £123.25 per week.

What employers should do

• Review sickness absence policies
• Ensure absence records are accurate
• Monitor short-term absence patterns
• Apply return-to-work processes consistently

Back-to-work meetings are likely to remain an important management tool.

Fair Work Agency

A new Fair Work Agency was established on 7 April 2026.

The Government has advised that the Fair Work Agency (FWA) brings together enforcement of key employment rights into one place,including

• National Minimum Wage
• agency worker protections
• gangmaster licencing

Additionally, the FWA takes on the enforcement of additional rights, such as holiday pay.

The FWA has powers to investigate breaches, issue civil penalties and take action against labour exploitation. It may inspect workplaces and require employers to produce relevant documents and evidence to demonstrate compliance with employment law.

Whilst the FWA will not create new legal obligations, it is expected that inspections and enforcement may operate differently.

What employers should do

• Review compliance with existing employment rights, such as National Minimum Wage, holiday pay and agency worker regulations
• Familiarise themselves with the FWA’s enforcement policy statement when published

Collective Redundancy Protective Award

Under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, a Tribunal may make a protective award where an employer fails to consult a collective redundancy situation involving 20 or more proposed dismissals.

From 6 April 2026, the maximum protective award for failure to consult collectively doubles from 90 days to 180 days’ pay where an employer fails to consult appropriate employee representatives when proposing 20 or more redundancies at one establishment within a 90-day period. This change applies to dismissals taking place on or after 6 April.

The existing legal thresholds for collective consultation are unchanged, but a new business-wide redundancy consultation threshold will be introduced by 2027. This would mean that employers proposing 20 or more redundancies ‘at one establishment’, or where a certain number or percentage of employees are affected across the employing entity, must carry out collective consultation.

What employers should do

• Review collective redundancy policies
• Ensure HR teams and senior leadership understand the increased penalties
• Identify potential collective consultation scenarios early.

Gender Pay Gap and Menopause Action Plans

Employers with 250 or more employees need to create action plans around menopause and gender pay gaps. These are voluntary from 6 April 2026 but will become mandatory at some point in 2027.

New Legislation: Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026

The draft Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 set out a new right to Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave (BPPL).

From 6 April 2026,employees have the right to take time off work where their child is under one year old, or within the first year of adoption, and the child’s mother or primary adopter has died. The right applies to bereavements on or after 6 April 2026, without any requirement for a period of qualifying service.

To be eligible for this leave, the employee must be:

• the child’s father, or the mother’s spouse or partner, in birth cases;
• the spouse or partner of the primary adopter in adoption cases; or
• the child’s primary parental order parent in surrogacy arrangements, at the time of the death.

The employee must also have the main responsibility for the child’s upbringing and be taking the BPPL to care for the child.

Employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks’ unpaid leave, which must usually be taken within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption. There is no statutory pay requirement for BPPL, and any paid leave is at the employer’s discretion.

As with other forms of long-term family leave, the employee’s contract of employment will continue during BPPL with the exception of clauses relating to remuneration. Employees are also entitled to up to 10 Keeping in Touch (KIT) days during the leave period.

Employees are protected from detriment and dismissal for taking or seeking to take BPPL. They are entitled to return to the same job, or, in some circumstances, to a suitable and appropriate alternative role. They also have the right to be offered a suitable alternative position if at risk of redundancy up to 18 months after the birth or adoption placement.

What employers should do: review bereavement and compassionate leave policies, create or update a specific BPPL policy, decide whether to offer discretionary pay for BPPL, and ensure line managers understand how to handle requests for BPPL sensitively and consistently.

How We Can Help

At Blanchards Bailey, our Employment Law and HR Services teams, recognised by The Legal 500, specialise in helping organisations protect both their business interests and their employees.  If you need professional support updating HR policies or would like to discuss the latest employment law changes, please contact Sophia Radford:

Telephone: 01258 488214

Email: so************@*****************co.uk

Locations: Blandford, Weymouth

Web: https://blanchardsbailey.co.uk/