The Employment Rights Act 2025: What Changed This Week - And What's Coming
This is one of the most significant overhauls of UK employment law in a generation. And the first wave landed on 6th April 2026. Right now. This week. If you employ anyone, even one person, you need to know what's changed.
Note: I'm not an employment lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. But I help founders build the processes and documentation that keep them on the right side of it - so here's what you need to know and act on.
What Changed:
StatusStatutory Sick Pay (SSP): 3-day waiting period gone. No earnings threshold and everyone qualifies from day one. Now £123.25/week.
Day-One Paternity & Parental Leave: No more 26-week qualifying period. Employees can take paternity & unpaid parental leave from their very first day.
Bereaved Partner's Leave: Up to 52 weeks unpaid leave if the mother or primary adopter dies. A day-one right. Sensitive - your policies must reflect it.
Sexual Harassment Whistleblowing: Reporting workplace sexual harassment is now formally a "protected disclosure". Employees are legally protected from retaliation.
Fair Work Agency: New enforcement body launched 7th April. Can inspect workplaces, issue penalties, and bring tribunal claims on behalf of workers.
Collective Redundancy Penalties: Maximum protective award doubles from 90 days to 180 days' pay if you fail to consult properly.
Third-Party Harassment Protection: New duty for employers to prevent harassment by clients or customers in your workplace. Due live in October 2026.
Unfair Dismissal Qualifying Period: Drops from 2 years to just 6 months - anyone you hire from July 2026 is affected from January 2027.
The businesses that struggle with this won't be the ones doing something wrong - they'll be the ones who've been too busy to update a contract or a handbook. That's exactly the kind of thing I help with.
Quick action checklist:
Review and update employment contracts - especially SSP entitlement and family leave rights
Update your employee handbook or equivalent HR documentation
Brief your payroll provider on the new SSP rules and National Living Wage rates (£12.71/hr for 21+)
Train managers on day-one rights, whistleblowing, and the new harassment protections
Prepare for Fair Work Agency inspections - make sure your HR documentation is current and accessible
If any redundancy is on the horizon, get legal advice now - penalties have doubled
If your contracts and handbook haven't been looked at in the last 12 months, now really is the time. Happy to help you work through this - just drop me an email: sarah@sarahpvirtual.co.uk.