April 2026 marks a major victory for working people across the UK. The first wave of reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) is finally taking effect — and while there’s more to come, these changes deliver real, tangible protections for employees, while holding employers accountable like never before.
For too long, workers have faced unfair treatment, financial insecurity, and barriers to basic family rights. Now, the tide is turning. Let’s break down what these changes mean for you — and why employers are being put on notice.
Collective Redundancy: No More Cheap Evasion
What’s changing?
The maximum protective award for employers who fail to consult collectively over redundancies is being doubled — from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay.
Why this matters for workers:
This is a game-changer. Employers who try to steamroll through mass redundancies without proper consultation will now face serious financial consequences. If you’re one of 20 or more workers facing redundancy at a single workplace within 90 days, your employer can’t just ignore their duty to talk to you and your representatives. This reform puts real money behind your right to a voice.
Family Leave: Day One Rights, Not Months of Waiting
What’s changing?
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave become day one rights — scrapping the outdated 26-week and one-year qualifying periods.
Why this matters for workers:
No more being told you haven’t “earned” the right to be there for your new child. Whether you started last week or last year, your family matters. Employers can no longer use service thresholds to block new parents from taking their legal entitlements. And yes — that includes probation periods.
Statutory Sick Pay: Finally, Fair from Day One
What’s changing?
The Lower Earnings Limit is gone. Waiting days are gone. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is now payable from day one of sickness, regardless of how much you earn.
Why this matters for workers:
If you’re on a zero-hours contract, low wages, or irregular shifts, you’ve often been locked out of SSP entirely. No more. And if you’re too ill to work, you no longer have to survive three unpaid “waiting days” before support kicks in. This is a huge step toward treating sickness as a health issue, not a luxury only higher-paid workers can afford.
Whistleblowing: Sexual Harassment Can No Longer Be Buried
What’s changing?
Reporting sexual harassment is now explicitly protected as a whistleblowing disclosure.
Why this matters for workers:
If you speak up about sexual harassment — past, present, or likely to happen — you are legally protected from retaliation. Employers can no longer silence you or brush you aside. This closes a dangerous loophole and gives you a powerful new shield when you do the right thing.
Bereaved Partners: Up to a Full Year of Leave
What’s changing?
Where a child’s birth mother or primary adopter dies within 52 weeks of the birth or adoption, the bereaved partner can take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave.
Why this matters for workers:
Grief doesn’t follow a two-week timetable. Losing a partner while caring for a new child is devastating. This new right gives bereaved parents time to grieve, bond with their child, and rebuild — without the added trauma of being forced back to work.
Gender Equality: From Voluntary to Mandatory — But Why Wait?
What’s changing?
The government is now “encouraging” employers to publish gender pay gap action plans and menopause action plans. These will become mandatory for large employers (250+ staff) from spring 2027.
Why this matters for workers:
Transparency is power. While the plans are voluntary for now, every worker should ask: Why is my employer waiting? If a company truly values equality, they’ll publish now — not when the law forces them. This framework is a stepping stone toward ending the stigma around menopause at work.
Holiday Pay Records: No More “We Lost the Paperwork”
What’s changing?
Employers now have a legal duty to keep adequate records of your statutory annual leave, carryover leave, and leave taken.
Why this matters for workers:
How many times have you been underpaid for holiday or told your leave didn’t “count”? Now, employers must keep a clear, auditable trail. And with the new Fair Work Agency launching on 7 April 2026, there’s finally a watchdog with teeth to enforce it.
The Fair Work Agency: A Watchdog That Bites
What’s changing?
The Fair Work Agency (FWA) launches on 7 April 2026, combining enforcement of the minimum wage, holiday pay, statutory payments, and more. It has powers to inspect premises, demand documents, and issue civil penalties.
Why this matters for workers:
No more relying solely on expensive, stressful individual tribunals. The FWA can investigate and act on behalf of workers across the board. Rogue employers can no longer gamble that they won’t get caught. This is coordinated, proactive enforcement — and it’s long overdue.
Final Thoughts: Rights Are Only Real When They’re Enforced
April 2026 isn’t just another date on the compliance calendar. It’s a win for working people — but only if we stay informed and hold employers to account.
Ask your employer:
- Have your policies been updated?
- Are your managers trained?
- Can you prove you’re complying?
And if you’re an employer reading this? Stop seeing these changes as a burden. See them as what they are: basic decency, written into law.
The era of cutting corners on workers’ rights is ending. The ERA 2025 is here — and April is just the beginning.
Source: Farrer & Co