Employment Law changes are coming under the updates to the Employment Rights Act.
We look at what will change from April 2026.
Paternity Leave, Parental Leave and Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave
Currently, statutory paternity leave and statutory parental leave requires an employee to have at least 26 weeks service up to any day in the ‘qualifying week’. The ‘qualifying week’ is the 15th week before the baby is due.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 abolishes the qualifying period so from 6 April 2026, employees will be able to give notice from day one of their employment.
Furthermore, currently employees lose their right to take paternity leave not already taken after taking a period of shared parental leave. From April paternity leave can be taken before or after a period of shared parental leave.
The aim of these changes is to support working parents in sharing caregiving responsibilities more easily.
Over 18 million workers across the UK to benefit from stronger protections at work, with most insecure workers set to gain the most.
Following campaigning, a new bereaved partner’s paternity leave will also be introduced from April by the Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026. This right provides up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave for fathers and partners who lose their partner before their child’s first birthday. The Government say this is aimed to fix the previously unfair system where bereaved partners had to rely on the compassion of an employer to be granted time off to grieve and care for their child.
Redundancy and the Protective Award
Collective consultation is legally required when an employer plans 20 or more redundancies at one workplace within 90 days. Currently, failure to collectively consult in accordance with law allows employees to claim a protective award of up to 90 days' pay.
From April 2026, this maximum award doubles to 180 days' pay. Employment tribunals will continue to be able to make proportionate awards below the maximum where appropriate.
The government will publish guidance to help employers understand their legal responsibilities.
This does make it ever more important to understand your obligations when it comes to conducting a redundancy process and consultation correctly.
Sexual Harassment: The law is set to become further onerous
The law on harassment has in recent years been an area which has been placed in the spotlight and 2026 is no exception.
Since October 2024, you have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of staff, including by third parties, during their employment.
From October 2026, this duty will be strengthened, requiring you to take all reasonable steps. This means employers will become legally responsible where a third-party, such as a client or a customer, harasses a member of staff in the course of their employment. You will only be able to successfully defend this type of claim if you can show that you have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.
Whilst regulations that are intended to clarify what constitutes ‘all reasonable steps’ will not be available until 2027; you should start the process of reviewing your risk assessments and consider measures needed to comply with further strengthening of the law in this area.
Time limit for bringing Employment Tribunal claims - Set to increase to six months
Currently workers must bring most claims within three months of the issue they are complaining about. This will change to six months from October 2026 and will apply to all types of claims (N.B. currently it is understood this will not apply to breach of contract claims arising or outstanding on termination of employment).
The extended deadline will inevitably lead to an increase in tribunal claims which may lead to further delays in cases being heard. It is however hoped that the recent extension of Acas Early Conciliation period from 6 to 12 weeks will facilitate matters and avoid the system being further clogged.
Watch this space
Look out for a separate newsflash spotlighting the changes to Statutory Sick Pay and things for you to consider in preparation.
How we can help
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