Employment Rights Act 2025: What UK Employers Must Know Before April 6

Meta title: Employment Rights Act 2025 April 6 — SSP, Paternity Leave & Redundancy Changes Meta description: On April 6 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces day-one SSP, day-one paternity leave, doubled redundancy awards and whistleblowing changes. Here's what UK employers need to do now. Target keywords: Employment Rights Act 2025, ERA 2025 April 6, day one SSP UK, day one paternity leave, collective redundancy award doubled Word count: ~950 Created: CMO Run #6 | 2026-03-27 20:31 UTC

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Most UK employers know about the April 1 wage rise. Far fewer know what happens five days later.

On April 6, 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 comes into force — and it changes the rules on sick pay, paternity leave, redundancy, and whistleblowing for every business with employees in the UK.

Here's what's changing, and what you need to do before it does.

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What Is the Employment Rights Act 2025?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) is the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in a generation. It passed into law in 2025 and a batch of its provisions take effect on 6 April 2026 — the same week as the National Living Wage rise and multiple other regulatory changes.

The key changes from April 6 are:

1. Statutory Sick Pay becomes a day-one right
2. Paternity leave becomes a day-one right
3. Collective redundancy protective awards are doubled
4. Sexual harassment becomes a protected disclosure under whistleblowing law

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1. SSP From Day One — No More 3-Day Wait

Currently, employees must be off sick for three days before you're legally required to pay Statutory Sick Pay. From April 6, that waiting period is abolished.

What this means for employers:

• Any employee who falls ill from April 6 onwards is entitled to SSP from day one of absence
• The current rate is £116.75/week (subject to confirmation for 2026/27)
• You must update your absence management policies to reflect the new entitlement
• Payroll software must be configured to calculate SSP from day one

Action required: Review your HR policies, employee handbooks, and absence notification procedures. Update your payroll software before April 6.

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2. Day-One Paternity Leave — The Qualifying Period Is Gone

Currently, employees need 26 weeks of continuous employment before they're eligible for paternity leave.

From April 6, paternity leave is a day-one right — meaning an employee who joins your business on April 5 and has a baby on April 7 is immediately eligible.

What this means for employers:

• No minimum length of service requirement for paternity leave
• Employees must still give the required notice (as early as possible, or 28 days where practicable)
• Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) eligibility rules may differ — check HMRC guidance
• Employment contracts and HR policies that reference the 26-week qualifying period are now out of date

Action required: Update employment contracts, staff handbooks, and any written HR policies that reference the qualifying period. Brief your HR team and line managers.

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3. Collective Redundancy Award: Doubled

If you make 20 or more employees redundant within a 90-day period, you're legally required to consult with employee representatives for a minimum period. Failure to do so results in a protective award — and from April 6, the maximum has doubled.

Before April 6: maximum 90 days' pay per affected employee
From April 6: maximum 180 days' pay per affected employee

For a business with 20 employees at £12.71/hour (the new NLW) working 37.5 hours per week:

• Maximum liability before April 6: ~£222,000
• Maximum liability from April 6: ~£444,000

This is not a hypothetical risk. Employment tribunals regularly award maximum or near-maximum protective awards where employers fail to consult properly.

Action required: If you're considering any restructuring that might involve 20+ redundancies, get legal advice immediately. Ensure your redundancy consultation processes are documented and compliant.

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4. Sexual Harassment as a Protected Disclosure

From April 6, complaints about sexual harassment qualify as protected disclosures under whistleblowing law.

This means employees who report sexual harassment at work are protected from dismissal and detriment in the same way as other whistleblowers.

What this means for employers:

• Retaliating against an employee who reports sexual harassment becomes a whistleblowing claim, not just a discrimination claim
• Whistleblowing claims have uncapped compensation
• You should review your grievance and harassment procedures to reflect this

Action required: Update your anti-harassment policy, grievance procedure, and staff training materials to make clear that sexual harassment complaints are protected disclosures.

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The Bigger Picture: A Compliance Wave in One Week

April 2026 brings three simultaneous compliance events affecting almost every UK employer:

Date	Change	Who's affected
1 April	NLW rises to £12.71/hour	All employers with minimum-wage staff
6 April	ERA 2025 — SSP day one, paternity day one, doubled redundancy award	All employers with staff
6 April	MTD ITSA live	860,000 sole traders with >£50k income

Most small business owners are aware of one of these. Almost none are prepared for all three.

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Your Checklist Before April 6

• Update payroll software for day-one SSP calculation
• Update employee handbooks and absence policies
• Remove the 26-week qualifying period from paternity leave policies
• Review employment contracts referencing the qualifying period
• Update anti-harassment policies to reference whistleblowing protection
• Review any planned restructuring for collective redundancy implications
• Brief your HR team or line managers on all of the above

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Stay on Top of Employment Law Changes

The ERA 2025 is just one piece of the regulatory landscape changing in 2026. There's also the DUAA data law deadline in June, Companies House mandatory ID verification in November, and ongoing enforcement from HMRC, HSE, ICO, and the CMA.

ComplianceAlert monitors UK regulatory bodies and sends plain-English alerts when something changes that affects your business.

£19/month. 30-second setup. No consultants required.

→ Try ComplianceAlert — compliancealert.co.uk

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ComplianceAlert is a UK regulatory monitoring service for small businesses. We monitor HMRC, ACAS, HSE, ICO, CQC, the CMA and other UK regulators so you don't have to.