Employment Rights Bill update: Changes expected in April 2026

It is important to note the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is expected to become law before the end of 2025. Most of the changes will take place in 2026 and 2027, but there are some changes expected when the Bill becomes law. 

What changes are expected in April 2026?

The headline changes expected in April 2026, that we can anticipate and plan for, include the following:

• Paternity leave is expected to become a day one right, currently the law is to take paternity leave you must have worked with your employer for 26 weeks
• Ordinary parental leave expected to become a day one right. The law as it stands currently is for employees working for their employer for one year to be eligible
• Statutory sick pay (SSP) will be paid from the first day of illness, instead of the fourth day and the lower earnings limit will be removed
• The maximum ‘protective award’ for failure to consult in a collective redundancy is expected to increase from 90 days to 180 days
• Sexual harassment is expected to become a ‘qualifying disclosure’ under whistleblowing. This means protection from unfair dismissal for whistleblowers making a sexual harassment disclosure
• Employers will be expected to create plans around menopause and gender pay gaps, likely to become mandatory in 2027
• Trade union recognition in the workplace will be simpler, and electronic voting may become available.

The headline changes expected in October 2026, that we can anticipate and plan for, include the following:

• Employers will be liable for harassment from third parties, unless they have taken ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent it happening. This differs from the law as it stands which reads ‘reasonable steps’
• A change around non-disclosure agreements is proposed, voiding clauses that prevent workers from alleging work-related harassment or discrimination. This will also affect settlement agreements
• Time limits for making a claim to the employment tribunal are expected to increase to 6 months for all claims, the law as it stands is currently 3 months
• Proposed duty for employers to inform workers about their right to join a trade union
• Updated rules about a trade unions access to the workplace.

The headline changes expected in 2027, that we can anticipate and plan for, include the following:

• Unfair dismissal is proposed to become a right after six months of employment, whereas the law as it currently operates is employment service of two years
• Increased protections against dismissal for pregnant and maternity employees
• Proposed new rights for bereavement leave
• Zero-hour contracts are likely to get the right to guaranteed working hours
• Workers may receive the right to be paid if a shift is cancelled, moved to another date or cut short by an employer
• Employers may have to provide reasons for rejecting flexible working requests because of a genuine business reason
• Employers will need to consider the total number of redundancies across their whole organisation, and not just individual workplaces (as the law currently stands)
• Further clarification on what ‘reasonable steps’ means preventing sexual harassment.

Advice for employers – how you can be prepared

You can prepare for the Employment Rights Bill by reviewing your current staff handbooks and policies. 

Ensure all disciplinary procedures, grievance policies and any contractual terms are up to date and compliant with current employment law. All employee personnel files must be up to date and contain all of the relevant information. 

Please reach out to us if you have any questions or queries, and we can help you prepare for the changes. 

Consultation Papers 

The first consultation papers were published on 23 October 2025, with the closing date 15 January 2026.

The papers provide an opportunity for individuals, employers, and businesses to offer feedback on the proposed changes in the law or policies. Gathering evidence and opinions will help to identify consequences and any practical challenges that will arise. Ensure to have your say on the following:

• Leave for bereavement (including pregnancy loss)
• Right of trade unions to access workplaces
• Duty to inform workers of their right to join a union
• Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.

Leave for bereavement (including pregnancy loss)

A proposed new statutory right to unpaid bereavement leave, available from Day one of employment, covering the death of a loved one and pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.

The law, as it stands, only allows employees that have lost a child to have statutory entitlement to time off. This covers parents for children up to the age of 18 or having a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. The leave includes two weeks’ paid leave, which can be taken in one-week blocks (consecutively or separately) within 56 weeks of the child’s death. If the child is stillborn after 24 weeks, statutory maternity or paternity may be available. 

There is also entitlement to reasonable time off to deal with emergency involving a dependant, may include time off to manage urgent matters following death of a dependant but does not cover extended leave or time off for bereavement or to grieve. 

The government invite feedback around:

• Eligibility criteria: which relationships should qualify, which types of pregnancy should qualify
• Length of leave and timing: the Bill has a minimum of one week’s unpaid leave within 56 days of the loss, should this be extended or made more flexible
• Notice and evidence requirements: how much notice should be required and if any evidence should be provided, as it may be harder for those who need to seek medical care first (noting the sensitivity around how requesting proof can be distressing or impractical).

Right of trade unions to access workplaces

At present, unions do not have a general independent right of access and where they can’t reach a voluntary agreement with an employer, they can only act through individual members. Where membership is low, their ability to carry out core functions is limited.  The ERB will establish a statutory right for unions to access workplaces physically and communication with workers in person and digitally. It also provides legal framework, and the right will be detailed in secondary legislation.

The government seek feedback around:

• Form of request: what form the union’s request for access should take, how it should be submitted and what information needs to be included
• Employer response: proposals note employers have 5 working days to respond, with the negotiation period being 15 working days, with referrals being made to the Central Arbitration Committee in 25 working days.
• Central Arbitration Committee: CAC will decide whether access takes place or not, on what terms and what assistance the employer should provide. There are circumstances to refuse access, and an exemption is being considered for small size employers (fewer than 21 workers).
• Fines for breaches: CAC can impose penalties for non-compliance, maximum of £75,000 or two stage maximum fine linked to repeated breaches with a higher fine of £150,000.

Duty to inform workers of their right to join a union 

ERB bans zero-hour contracts, ends fire and rehire and gives 1.3 million of the country’s lowest paid employees access to SSP. The ERB contains a new statutory duty to inform workers of their legal right to join a trade union.

The government require feedback around:

• Content of the statement: employers providing a written statement to workers setting out their right to join a trade union and the contents of this
• Manner of delivery: whether the statement should be provided at the same time the statement of employment particulars are delivered or delivered either directly or indirectly. If it should be electronic, posted, put on notice board or intranet
• Frequency of delivery: if the statement should be reissued, if so every 6 months, annually or sector specific. 

Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers

The government proposed to make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, women on maternity and those returning to work for at least 6 months post return (unless in specified circumstances). Dismissals which are because of or for reasons connected with pregnancy or maternity are already unlawful. 

The government request feedback around:

• Circumstances for dismissal: proposal to introduce a new test for fairness, relying on existing fair reasons for dismissal but meeting a new, stricter standard or to narrow the scope and remove some of the fair reasons
• When the protections should start: enhanced redundancy protection, automatic unfair dismissal and discrimination are day one rights, and the question is when enhanced protection for pregnant women should start
• Scope: if this should extend to other parents and how to support awareness of the rights, noting ACAS and EHCR provide some guidance, but some women are still unaware
• Mitigate unintended consequences: the consultation asks how to mitigate unintended consequences as they do not wish the adverse effects to include becoming hesitant to hire or avoid women and pregnant women if there are enhanced protections against dismissal. 

We encourage all individuals, businesses, employers and HR advisors to provide their feedback on the consultation papers. The likely timeline for matters raised in the consultation papers to become law are in 2026 and 2027. 

Increases to Statutory Payments and Maternity Pay Effective from April 2026

The government have published Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027, which sets out planned increases to statutory payments including statutory sick pay, maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay, neonatal care pay, parental bereavement pay and maternity allowance, effective from April 2026.

• Statutory Sick Pay weekly rate will increase from £118.75 to £123.25
• Maternity pay, maternity allowance, adoption pay, paternity pay, shared parental pay, neonatal care pay and parental bereavement pay weekly rate will increase from £187.18 to £194.32
• The lower earnings limit (the weekly earning threshold for qualifying for the payments mentioned above, bar maternity allowance) will increase from £125 to £129
• For maternity allowance, the threshold remains at £30 per week.

Before the above rates can come into force, they need to be approved in an Order before Parliament. The rates are in line with a 3.8% increase with CPI to September 2025.