Current Employment Law updates to be aware of

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is effective, and changes are coming into force over the course of 2026 and 2027. Below are a summary of the changes: 

• Fair work agency established from 7 April 2026: this will bring together several enforcement bodies and help ensure employment rights (like sick pay and minimum wage) are properly enforced 
• Extended eligibility for statutory sick pay (SSP): from 6 April 2026, SSP will be paid from the first day of sickness absence, rather than starting from the fourth day. The lower earnings threshold has been removed, meaning more lower-paid workers will qualify for SSP. The amount of SSP payable will be the lower of the statutory rate (£123.25 per week for 26/27) and 80% of the employee's normal weekly earnings
• Statutory paternity becomes a day-one employment right: from April 2026, employees will have the right to paternity leave from their first day of employment. Prior to this, employees needed 26 weeks service to qualify
• Ordinary parental leave becomes a day-one employment right: from 6 April 2026 employees will have the right to unpaid parental leave from day one of employment. Prior to this employee needed one year’s qualifying service. Parental leave allows eligible parents to take time off to care for a child (up to 18 weeks per child, usually limited to four weeks per year)
• Reform of trade union laws: various trade union reforms took effect from 6 April 2026, primarily to simplify and accelerate the statutory union recognition process in UK workplaces
• Protective award doubled in relation to collective redundancy consultation failures: Prior to the Act passing, the maximum protective award was for 90 days gross pay per affected employee. Under the ERA 2025, the maximum protective award has increased to 180 days gross pay per affected employee, for dismissals taking place on or after 6 April 2026
• Sexual harassment added as a category of protected disclosure under whistleblowing legislation: with effect from 6 April 2026 sexual harassment disclosures are specifically protected under whistleblowing law, so employees are protected from detriment or dismissal when raising these concerns
• New record-keeping requirement relating to holiday: from 6 April 2026 there is requirement for employers to keep records of annual leave for six years
• Vento bands: (which are compensation guidelines used by UK Employment Tribunals to calculate damages for "injury to feelings" in discrimination and whistleblowing claims) were  updated on 6 April 2026.

The new bands are:

• a lower band of £1,300 to £12,600 (less serious cases)
• a middle band of £12,600 to £37,700 (cases that do not merit an award in the upper band), and
• an upper band of £37,700 to £62,900 (the most serious cases) with the most exceptional cases capable of exceeding £62,900.

Get ahead of the curve

If you have any queries about the contents of the article, please get in touch with our employment team and we are happy to assist.