Honestly, if you've been scrolling through LinkedIn or catching snippets of the evening news lately, you’ve probably heard some version of "the biggest shake-up in a generation" regarding work. It sounds like hyperbole. Usually, it is. But this time? The Employment Rights Act 2025—which just got Royal Assent a few weeks ago in December—is actually a massive deal.
Basically, the "wait and see" period is over. We’re officially in the implementation phase of 2026, and the ground is moving under our feet.
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It’s easy to get lost in the legalese. You’ve got the "Day One" rights, the "Fair Work Agency," and the sudden death of the two-year unfair dismissal rule. But here’s the thing: most of the noise focuses on what's happening eventually. If you’re running a business or managing a team, you need to know what’s happening right now.
UK Employment Law News Today: The April 2026 Cliff Edge
We aren't just talking about abstract theories anymore. April 6, 2026, is the date circled in red on every HR director's calendar. That’s when the first wave of heavy hitters from the new Act actually goes live.
The big one? Statutory Sick Pay (SSP).
For years, we’ve had this "three-day waiting period." You get sick, you stay home, and you don't see a penny of SSP until day four. That is gone. As of April, SSP is a day-one right. If a worker is sick on Monday, they get paid for Monday.
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But there’s a sneaky detail people are missing. The Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) is also being scrapped. Currently, if someone earns less than £123 a week, they don't get SSP. Period. From April, everyone is in. If they earn below the limit, they’ll get 80% of their earnings. It’s a huge win for part-time and gig economy workers, but for small businesses with tight margins? It’s a significant new cost to budget for.
Paternity and Parental Leave: No More Waiting Room
We’re also seeing a total collapse of "qualifying periods" for family leave.
Kinda wild, right? Under the old rules, a dad had to be at the company for 26 weeks to get paternity leave. Starting April 2026, that requirement is in the bin. Someone could literally start a job on a Monday and legally request paternity leave on Tuesday if their partner gives birth.
The "Six-Month" Reality Check
There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about unfair dismissal. The government originally wanted "Day One" protection for everyone. Employers freaked out. The compromise? A six-month qualifying period.
Now, technically, the full weight of this won't hit the tribunals until January 2027, but here’s why it’s UK employment law news today: if you hire someone in July 2026, they will hit that six-month mark exactly when the law changes.
The two-year "safety net" for employers is effectively dead for anyone you hire from this summer onwards. You’ve got to get your probation game on point. You can't just let underperformance slide for eighteen months and then "let them go" without a formal process anymore. If they hit month six, they're protected.
Expert Note: While the qualifying period is shrinking, the compensation cap is also being removed. This is the bit that keeps lawyers up at night. Currently, awards are usually capped at a year’s pay or roughly £118,000. Going forward? No cap. For high earners, an unfair dismissal claim just became a multi-million-pound risk.
Sexual Harassment and the "All Reasonable Steps" Rule
If you haven't updated your harassment policies since 2024, you’re already behind. But October 2026 ups the ante again.
The law is shifting from a duty to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment to a duty to take "all reasonable steps." That one extra word—"all"—is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
It means the Fair Work Agency (the new "super-enforcer" launching in April) won't just look for a dusty policy in a handbook. They’ll want to see:
- Regular, documented training.
- Risk assessments specific to different departments.
- Clear evidence that you’ve addressed third-party harassment from customers or clients.
If a regular at a pub harrasses a server, the employer is now on the hook unless they can prove they took "all reasonable steps" to stop it. It’s a proactive burden, not a reactive one.
The End of "Fire and Rehire"
We’ve all seen the headlines about companies sacking their entire workforce and offering them their jobs back on worse pay. It’s been a PR nightmare for years. By October 2026, it’ll be a legal nightmare too.
The new Act makes "fire and rehire" automatically unfair in almost every circumstance. The only "out" for a business is a financial necessity test. You basically have to prove the business will go bust if you don't change those contracts. "Increasing profit margins" won't be a good enough excuse in front of a judge.
Actionable Steps for the Next 90 Days
You don't need to wait for April to start moving. In fact, if you wait, you’re asking for a tribunal claim.
- Audit Your Payroll Software: Seriously. Most systems are set up for the 3-day SSP waiting period. Ask your provider now if they’re ready for the day-one switch and the 80% calculation for low earners.
- Rewrite Your Probation Clauses: Start treats probation like the high-stakes period it now is. Set clear KPIs for month one, three, and five. If it’s not working out, you need to know by month five at the latest.
- The "Union Access" Conversation: One of the less-talked-about parts of the Act is the new "Right of Access" for unions. You’ll soon have a legal duty to inform new hires of their right to join a union. Don't let this be a surprise—start thinking about your industrial relations strategy now.
- Review Third-Party Risk: If your staff deals with the public, start documenting how you protect them. Signs, "zero tolerance" policies, and even the way your physical space is laid out all count toward those "all reasonable steps."
The "single worker status" is still being consulted on, and the "Right to Switch Off" is still more of a code of practice than a hard law, but the core of the Employment Rights Act is settled. The 2026 landscape is about more pay, more protection, and a lot less room for employer error.
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Update your handbooks. Train your managers. And for heaven's sake, stop relying on that two-year unfair dismissal rule. It’s gone.