COMING THIS APRIL: THE NEXT WAVE OF EMPLOYMENT LAW CHANGES
This month we hosted the first of our HR Matters Bitesize Webinar Sessions, (Click HERE or on the image above to view) where we focussed on imminent Employment Rights Act (‘ERA’) changes i.e. those changes coming into play on 6 April 2026. These include:
Disclosure of sexual harassment to be added to the list of qualifying disclosures under whistleblowing legislation. Currently, sexual harassment complaints can be protected as qualifying disclosures, but only if they are characterised under existing categories of qualifying disclosures, such as ‘breach of legal obligation’ or ‘health and safety’ and they are made in the public interest. The ERA 2025 will clarify this position by ensuring that sexual harassment is expressly listed as a qualifying disclosure. As is the case now, the individual making the disclosure must reasonably believe that the information disclosed is true and is in the public interest.
The establishment Fair Work Agency (‘FWA’), to consolidate enforcement functions currently spread across bodies such as HMRC and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. The FWA will have the power to recover underpayments of statutory entitlements directly from employers, without relying on individuals to pursue tribunal claims themselves. It will also be able to bring tribunal claims on behalf of workers and provide legal assistance or representation where claims have already been issued.
The penalty for failure to comply with collective consultation obligations is doubling. At the moment, employees can claim a protective award of up to 90 days’ pay if their employer does not comply with its collective consultation obligations. The potential maximum award is increasing to 180 days’ pay.
Paternity Leave (not pay) becoming a day one right (removing the qualifying period of 26 weeks) for parents of babies with an expected week of childbirth on or after 5 April 2026 or 6 April 2026 for adoption.
Parental Leave (not pay) becoming a day one right (removing the qualifying period of one year) for parents of babies with an expected week of childbirth on or after 5 April 2026 or 6 April 2026 for adoption.
New right to take Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave (not pay) if your partner or the mother of your child dies within the first year of your child's life or adoption – this right is also a day one right.
Changes to the statutory sick pay (SSP) regime - qualifying workers will now be paid SSP from day one of sickness and will be entitled to SSP no matter their earnings (if a worker earns less than the lower earnings limit – currently £123, they will be entitled to SSP at 80% of weekly earnings.)
We think these April changes are significant.
Claims relating to holiday pay and national minimum wage compliance are more likely to be pursued by, or with the assistance of, the FWA, and so auditing your pay calculations and ensuring these are correct, is crucial.
Management and HR teams will need to work even more closely to ensure sick leave is accurately recorded and fed through to payroll teams, and in turn manage any increase in persistent short-term absence via robust absence management processes.
Policies will need updating to reflect enhanced family friendly rights and the widening of the whistleblowing regime, and managers will need training and guidance on what these new rights mean in practice.
If you would like any assistance with the above, please let us know. We are also assisting clients with their respective responses to a number of open consultations about future ERA changes. These include a consultation over what the threshold should be for triggering collective consultation obligations. The full list of open consultations can be viewed HERE
