{"id":50055,"date":"2026-04-15T16:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/?post_type=knowledge&#038;p=50055"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:10:23","slug":"employement-law-changes","status":"publish","type":"knowledge","link":"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/staff\/employement-law-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Employment Rights Act: 5 big changes to employment law\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The landscape of UK employment law has officially entered a new era. As of April 2026, the Employment Rights Act has introduced some of the most significant changes to workers&#8217; rights in a generation. Shifting the focus toward day one protections and more rigorous enforcement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Find out how employment law has changed and how you can make sure that you\u2019re following the new legislation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-sick-pay-from-day-one\">1. Sick pay from day one<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is now a day-one right for employees in the UK \u2013 meaning you no longer have to wait until an employee\u2019s fourth day of illness to pay them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And there\u2019s been further tweaking to the earnings threshold for SSP:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>no earnings floor \u2013<\/strong> the lower earnings limit has also been removed. This means part-time or lower-earning staff are now eligible for SSP<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>a new rate \u2013<\/strong> for those who earn less than the standard SSP rate, they\u2019re now entitled to either a flat weekly rate or 80% of their normal earnings (whichever is lower)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-day-one-family-leave\">2. Day one family leave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave have moved from being earned benefits to immediate rights:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>no more 26-week wait \u2013<\/strong> new hires can now request paternity leave from their first day on the job<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>shorter paternity leave notice \u2013<\/strong> the notice period for paternity leave has been slashed from 15 weeks to 28 days, giving families more flexibility\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>new bereaved partner\u2019s leave \u2013<\/strong> a new protection has been introduced that allows up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave if a mother or primary adopter passes away during a child\u2019s first year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-stronger-employee-protections-and-whistleblowing-protocol-nbsp\">3. Stronger employee protections and whistleblowing protocol&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Employment Rights Act places a much heavier emphasis on workplace safety and fair treatment. With two key pieces of legislation being introduced on 6 April:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>sexual harassment whistleblowing \u2013<\/strong> reporting sexual harassment is now explicitly categorised as a protected disclosure. Which means it comes under whistleblowing law, protecting them from any form of retaliation or detriment for speaking up<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>increased redundancy rights \u2013<\/strong> if a business fails to follow the correct consultation process during collective redundancies, the protective award penalty has doubled from 90 days to 180 days of uncapped pay for each employee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-the-fair-work-agency-nbsp\">4. The Fair Work Agency&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To make sure these new laws are being followed, there\u2019ll be a dedicated watchdog.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On 7 April, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/fair-work-agency\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Fair Work Agency <\/strong><\/a>officially launched. This new body serves as a point of contact for workers to report employment law breaches and has the power to inspect workplaces and issue penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-trade-union-recognition-reforms\">5. Trade union recognition reforms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trade union recognition process has been significantly streamlined to make representation more accessible. A union only needs to show 10% membership within a workforce group to trigger an application.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the requirement for a yes vote to represent at least 40% of the total workforce has been scrapped \u2013 in favor of a simple majority of those who actually vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Electronic balloting is also being introduced with measures to prevent unit dilution \u2013 where employers might hire staff specifically to weaken a union&#8217;s percentage of support.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-azure-200-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-30c80bf8 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:10px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--90);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--90);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--90);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--90);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--90);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--90)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-do-employers-need-to-do\"><strong>What do employers need to do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To make sure you\u2019re following all of the latest legislation, you\u2019ll need to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>check your payroll \u2013<\/strong> make sure your systems are set up to handle SSP for all workers, regardless of their earnings level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>update your handbook \u2013 <\/strong>make sure your paternity and sick pay policies reflect the day one eligibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-guides-for-small-businesses\">Guides for small businesses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/business-tax\/best-small-business-accounting-software-uk\/\">Best accounting software for small businesses \u2013 get MTD ready<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/funding\/small-business-grants\/\">Small business grants: everything you need to know<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/hospitality\/cost-of-pint-glass-theft\/\">The real cost of stealing a pint glass<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplybusiness.co.uk\/knowledge\/management\/invisible-threats-to-small-businesses-protect-against-cyber-attacks\/\">Invisible threats to small businesses (and what to do about them)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"nba-upsell-001\" class=\"wp-block-group has-azure-200-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-94e519ba wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Ready to set up your cover?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">As one of the UK&#8217;s biggest <a href=\"\/business-insurance\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"5152\" >business insurance<\/a> providers, we specialise in <a href=\"\/business-insurance\/public-liability-insurance\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"734\" >public liability insurance<\/a> and protect more trades than anybody else. Why not take a look now and build a quick, tailored quote?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/quote.simplybusiness.co.uk\/business\">Start your quote<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>See how workers\u2019 rights are changing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":50056,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sb_hreflang":"","sb_hreflang_url":"","disable_breadcrumbs":false,"sb_breadcrumbs":[],"sb_reviewed_by":"","sb_review_date":"","sb_enable_content_gating":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[338,342,110],"hidden-category":[],"coauthors":[23],"class_list":["post-50055","knowledge","type-knowledge","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management","category-staff","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Employment Rights Act: 5 big changes to employment law\u00a0 - Simply Business UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Employment Rights Act has introduced some of the most significant changes to workers&#039; rights in a generation. 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