First Major Implementation of the Employment Rights Act: 2026 (April 6th)

April 6th, 2026, saw the first major implementation of the Employment Rights Act, meaning that employers will need to provide updated contracts and documentation to remain compliant with the latest changes in legislation. With further changes coming into play later this year, as an employer, you should already be looking ahead to ensure your documents are up to date. 

Failure to do this could result in your business being taken to an employment tribunal, with the risk of hefty fines and reputational damage. For expert advice on the Employment Rights Act and a free documentation review, call 0844 561 8133.

Partnerships Manager, Fraser Kennedy, comments:

"The Employment Rights Act brings the biggest changes to employment law in a generation. With the Fair Work Agency now in play, the businesses who are not compliant with the new legislation now run the risk of enforcement action, so it is imperative that you seek advice from an Employment Law specialist, to avoid costly tribunal claims, or the risk of court." 

“With further significant changes are due to become law in October, businesses should be looking at incorporating these changes into their contracts and documentation as soon as possible to avoid being left vulnerable.”

Health and Safety Director at Croner, Chris Wagstaff comments: 

“The Employment Rights Bill forces employers to review their policies for employee wellbeing, especially those surrounding mental health. As part of your employer’s duty to prevent sexual harassment, it will be imperative to conduct a violence and aggression risk assessment alongside home working risk assessments for lone workers.”

To avoid the risk to your organisation, businesses need to be compliant with the following changes: 

Collective redundancy

This change doubles the maximum of the collective redundancy protective award from 90 days’ pay to a maximum of 180 days’ pay.

Statutory Sick Pay

The lower earnings limits and three-day waiting period have been removed meaning that the lowest earners will be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from their first day of sickness.

Prevention of sexual harassment

Whistleblowing protections for protected disclosures regarding sexual harassment are now in force.

Trade unions

The trade union recognition process has now been simplified.

Strengthened employment rights

The establishment of the Fair Work Agency began enforcing the Employment Rights Act on April 7th.

Paternity and parental leave

The service requirement for paternity leave and parental leave has now been removed.

These changes fall alongside those previously implemented on 18th Dec 2025 (Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023) and 18th Feb 2026 (Repeal of the majority of the Trade Union Act 2016:

• Removal of the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds

• Simplification of industrial action notices and industrial action ballot notices

• Introduction of extended protections against dismissal for taking industrial action).

Overall, the full list of changes is confirmed to take place over a two-year period, and will be rolled out in stages, with further updates planned in October 2026. The remaining changes will be implemented in 2027.

 
Ensure compliance with the Employment Rights Act 2025

Talk to a member of our expert HR and Employment Law advisory team today and download our Employment Rights Act roadmap. 0844 561 8133.