UK: Employment Rights Act April 2026 Changes

Authors: Robert Hill, Corinna Harris, Sophie Jackson, & Charlotte Stern

6 April 2026 is a key implementation date for Employment Rights Act reforms in the UK, with a number of significant changes taking effect this month.

Key changes taking effect in April include:

Duty to keep annual leave records: Employers are now required to keep ‘adequate’ records demonstrating compliance with workers’ annual leave and holiday pay entitlements, including payment in lieu of untaken holiday on termination. Records must be sufficient to evidence how holiday entitlement and pay are calculated, approved, taken and paid, and must be retained for six years. The duty applies to all workers, including those with irregular hours and part‑year workers.

Statutory Sick Pay: SSP is payable from the first day of absence, and available to all eligible employees regardless of their earnings.

‘Day one’ family leave rights: From the first day of employment, employees are entitled to paternity leave, unpaid parental leave and a new bereaved partners paternity leave, which provides for up to 52 weeks’ paternity leave where the mother or primary adopter dies in the first year of the child’s life.

Collective redundancy consultation: The maximum protective award for failure to comply with collective consultation obligations has doubled to 180 days’ gross pay per employee.

Sexual harassment disclosures: Reports of sexual harassment are included in the list of what counts as a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law.

Voluntary action plans: Large employers are encouraged to publish action plans on gender pay gaps and supporting employees during the menopause.

Trade union recognition: The statutory process for trade union recognition has been simplified.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel

Employers should ensure they update their policies and procedures to reflect these changes.

The new requirement to retain annual leave records was introduced with minimal notice, giving employers little time to prepare. While organisations have flexibility over how these records are kept – they ‘may be created, maintained and kept in such manner and format as the employer reasonably thinks fit’ – they must be retained for six years and failure to comply will constitute an offence, punishable by a fine. Enforcement action by the Fair Work Agency, established on 7 April 2026, is expected from 2027.

See our tracker for more details about these, and upcoming, employment law changes.