Employees Get New Rights

The Employment Rights Bill received “Royal Assent” on 18^th December 2025 and is now known as the Employment Rights Act 2025. The Act will include additions and amendments to the existing legislation of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Changes to the Employment law included within the Act will take place over the next 2 years.

February 2026 Changes

One of the first changes being implemented is in February 2026 and this will affect changes to the dismissal for taking part in industrial action, which will become “automatically unfair”. This removes the current 12-week limit for claiming unfair dismissal.

Additionally, changes to trade union activity will take place as follows:

• The time needed to give notice of industrial action will reduce to 10 days, instead of 14 days
• Unions will need a simple majority to vote for industrial action
• Picket supervisors will no longer be required
• Industrial action mandates will last for 12 months, instead of 6 months
• Industrial action and ballot notices will be simplified
• Political fund rules will change
• Simplification of how a trade union can be recognised in a workplace
• Allow trade union members to vote electronically

April 2026 Changes

Changes that will come into effect in the next tax year will be:

Paternity Leave:

• Paternity leave will become a “day one right”, meaning an employee can take paternity leave from the first day of their employment – an employee currently has to have been employed by an employer for 26 weeks.
• Ordinary parental leave will also come a “day one right”, currently an employee must have been employed for 1 year to be eligible.
• The restrictions on taking paternity leave and shared parental leave will be removed also.

Sick Pay:

• Statutory Sick pay (SSP) is currently paid after 4 “waiting days”, from April 2026 it will be payable from day 1 of sickness.
• An employee currently has to earn £125.00 per week to be eligible for SSP, this lower earnings limit will be removed from April 2026.

Collective Redundancy Protective Award

The maximum “protective award” for failure to consult in collective redundancy will double from 90 days pay to 180 days’ pay. This means that tribunals can award up to 180 days gross pay for affected employees with a potential for 25% uplift for non-compliance with the statutory code of practice.

Whistleblowing Protections for Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment will become “qualifying disclosure” under whistleblowing law. This will mean that employees will have protection under unfair dismissal for whistleblowing or making a sexual harassment disclosure.

Gender Pay Gap and Menopause Action Plans

Employers will be required to create action plans around menopause and gender pay gaps. This will be voluntary from April 2026 but mandatory sometime in 2027.

Fair Work Agency

A Fair Work Agency will be established in April 2026, and the aim is to bring existing enforcement bodies together and take on enforcement of other employment rights, such as holiday pay and SSP.

Further changes are to be implemented from October 2026, and we will update you on these nearer the time.

Get In Touch

If you would like any further information or would like us to advise you on this could affect your employees, then please contact your local Whitings LLP office and ask to speak to a member of our Payroll Department.