Employment Rights Act - 6 April 2026 Employer Checklist

Six provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 take effect on 6 April 2026. If you haven't already updated your employment contracts, handbooks, SSP policy, and redundancy procedures, you have a narrow window.

This checklist covers what needs to change, who needs to change it, and what the consequences are if you don't.

The 6 April 2026 Checklist

1. Paternity leave - day-one right

What's changing: the 26-week qualifying period for ordinary paternity leave is removed. Employees have the right from their first day of employment.
What to update: employment contracts (remove qualifying period reference), employee handbook (paternity leave section), manager guidance
Consequence of not updating: contracts and handbooks that reference the old qualifying period will be incorrect and potentially create disputes

Source: Pinsent Masons, ERA timeline guide

2. Unpaid parental leave - day-one right

What's changing: the 12-month qualifying period for unpaid parental leave is removed
What to update: employment contracts, employee handbook (parental leave section)
Consequence: incorrect documentation and potential employee claims

3. SSP - no waiting period, no lower earnings limit

What's changing: the three waiting days are abolished (SSP payable from day one of illness); the lower earnings limit is removed (all employees eligible regardless of earnings). Rate rises from £116.75 to £123.25/week.
What to update: SSP policy, sickness absence policy, payroll system configuration, manager guidance on sickness reporting
Consequence: failing to pay SSP correctly from day one exposes the employer to Employment Tribunal claims and HMRC enforcement

4. Collective redundancy protective award - doubled

What's changing: the maximum protective award for failure to collectively consult rises from 90 days' pay to 180 days' pay per affected employee
What to update: redundancy consultation procedure, HR manager guidance, any template letters or scripts used in collective redundancy processes
Consequence: a collective redundancy of 30 people without proper consultation could now result in awards of up to 180 x 30 = 5,400 days' pay in aggregate

5. Statutory family pay rates

What's changing: statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), statutory adoption pay (SAP), and statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) all rise to £194.32/week
What to update: payroll configuration, any enhanced pay calculations that reference the statutory rate, offer letters and contracts that quote statutory rates
Consequence: underpaying statutory family pay results in HMRC penalties and potential employee claims

6. Annual leave and holiday pay records

What's changing: employers must now maintain records of annual leave taken and holiday pay paid
What to update: implement a record-keeping system if not already in place, review existing HR systems to confirm they capture required data, update the holiday/annual leave policy to reference the record-keeping obligation
Consequence: failure to maintain adequate records leaves employers unable to defend holiday pay claims and may attract enforcement action

Quick-Reference Summary

Change	Effective date	Document to update	Urgency
Paternity leave - day-one right	6 April 2026	Contracts, handbook	Now
Unpaid parental leave - day-one right	6 April 2026	Contracts, handbook	Now
SSP - no waiting days, no LEL	6 April 2026	SSP policy, payroll	Now
Protective award - 180 days	6 April 2026	Redundancy procedure	Now
Statutory family pay - £194.32	6 April 2026	Payroll, contracts	Now
Holiday pay record-keeping	6 April 2026	Holiday policy, HR systems	Now

What's Coming in January 2027

Two further major changes take effect in January 2027: the unfair dismissal qualifying period reduces from two years to six months, and the fire-and-rehire ban takes effect.

Employers who act on the April changes now will be well-placed to tackle the January 2027 changes in a planned way rather than reactively. For full details, see our updated ERA timeline.

Deeper Guides on the Key April Changes

For employers wanting more detail on the two changes with the largest payroll and policy impact, see:

Day-one statutory sick pay employer guide - waiting days removed, lower earnings limit abolished, new 80% calculation rule.
Day-one family leave employer guide - day-one paternity and parental leave, new bereaved partner's paternity leave, statutory family pay £194.32.

How Policy Pros Can Help

Need help updating your contracts, handbooks, and HR policies before 6 April? Policy Pros offers urgent contract review packages and can turn around updated documentation quickly.

If your existing documentation needs a broader update, our policy review service can identify everything that needs changing and deliver updated documents on a fixed-price basis.

What Changes from April 2026

The Employment Rights Bill received Royal Assent in 2025 and is being commenced in phases. The April 2026 phase introduces several day-one rights and procedural changes that employers must reflect in policies and procedures before commencement.

Key April 2026 changes include day-one rights to paternity, parental, and bereaved partner's leave; day-one Statutory Sick Pay (with the three-day waiting period removed and the lower earnings limit lifted); enhanced rights for pregnant workers; and stricter zero-hours contract regulation.

Further phases follow in October 2026 and during 2027.

Employer Checklist for April 2026

Update the Sickness and Sick Pay policy to remove the waiting period and the lower earnings limit.
Update Paternity Leave, Parental Leave and Bereaved Partner's Leave policies to remove the qualifying-service requirement.
Refresh contracts of employment to reflect day-one statutory rights.
Audit zero-hours and low-hours contracts against the new guaranteed-hours framework.
Update the new and expectant mothers risk assessment process and the redundancy procedure to reflect the enhanced protected period.
Brief line managers on the change in qualifying service.
Update the staff handbook and benefits portal copy.

Common Misconceptions

"Day one" does not mean automatic. The procedural framework still applies; the change is only to the qualifying service.
Probation periods still permitted. The Bill preserves probation and a lighter-touch dismissal procedure during a "statutory probation period" expected to be capped at six to nine months.
Existing employees included. The day-one changes apply to all employees, not only new hires after April 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is unfair dismissal a day-one right from April 2026?

Not from April 2026. The day-one unfair dismissal right is being introduced in a later phase, currently expected in October 2026 or 2027 with a statutory probation period to be defined in regulations.

Do I need to update my contracts?

Yes. Existing contracts that reference qualifying service for paternity, parental or bereaved partner's leave, or that incorporate the SSP waiting period, will be inconsistent with statute and should be amended.

Are SMEs in scope?

All employers regardless of size are in scope for the April 2026 day-one rights and SSP changes. The forthcoming day-one unfair dismissal right will also apply to all employers.

What Policy Pros Delivers

We are running an Employment Rights Act readiness programme through Q1 and Q2 2026 covering policy updates, manager briefings and contract amendments. Contact us for a fixed-fee scope.