UK Employment Law Changes in April 2026

This April, as well as the usual changes to employment law, there will be additional changes related to the introduction of the Employment Rights Act 2025. 

These are as follows:

From 1 April 2026, there will be increases to the National Minimum Wage (NMW):

• The National Living Wage (NLW) will increase from £12.21 to £12.71 per hour.
• The 18 to 20 year old wage rate will increase from £10.00 to £10.85 per hour.
• The 16 to 17 year old wage rate will increase from £7.55 to £8.00 per hour.

The accommodation offset limit will rise from £10.66 to £11.10 per day. The accommodation offset is the maximum daily amount that can be added to an employee’s pay for calculating NMW compliance when employers provide accommodation.

The limits in relation to unfair dismissal/redundancy pay are increasing as below:

• Basic award: increasing from £8,763 to £9,157.
• Compensatory award: increasing from £118,223 to £123,543.
• Maximum amount of a “week’s pay”: increasing from £719 to £751.

NOTE: This is the last time the unfair dismissal compensatory cap will increase before it is abolished entirely on 1 January 2027 (under the current timeframe).

From 6 April 2026, other limits and statutory payments will increase as follows:

• Family-related benefits: the flat rate of statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental pay will rise from £187.18 to £194.32 per week.
• Statutory sick pay (SSP): SSP will increase from £118.75 to £123.25 per week.

SSP reform – in addition to the increase in SSP rates, the following changes apply:

• The current waiting period will be removed so that SSP can be paid from day one (rather than day four); and
• The lower earnings limit will be removed, making all employees eligible for SSP.

Day one parental and paternity leave – Under the Employment Rights Act, there will no longer be a service requirement for parental leave and paternity leave, meaning that both can be taken from day one of employment. Currently, employees must have one year’s service to qualify for parental leave and 26 weeks for paternity leave. Employees will also be allowed to take paternity leave after shared parental leave, which is not currently possible. The paternity leave change will apply to babies born on or after 6 April 2026 (or earlier when the Expected Week of Childbirth starts on or after 5 April).

Paternity leave for bereaved partners – The right for partners to take up to 52 weeks of leave if the mother dies in the first year of a child’s life under the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act is expected to come into force from 6 April 2026. This is a day one right, and the amount of leave will vary based on the date of the bereavement.

Collective redundancies – The maximum protective award for failure to consult collectively in a relevant redundancy situation will increase from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay per affected employee.

Employers will have to create action plans in respect of menopause and gender pay gaps. These will be voluntary from 6 April 2026 and will become mandatory in 2027.

Statutory union recognition reform – The Employment Rights Act has introduced changes to make it easier for trade unions to win statutory recognition for collective bargaining purposes.

Sexual harassment will be added to the list of what counts as a qualifying disclosure for whistleblowing purposes, provided that it still meets the test of reasonable belief that it is made in the public interest.

As of 7 April 2026, a new state enforcement body, called the Fair Work Agency (FWA) will be established, with a brief to bring together existing enforcement bodies and enforce employment rights, like holiday pay and statutory sick pay.

As always, Simply-Docs will update its documents and guidance to help employers navigate the upcoming changes.