The Government has now published the enabling regulations that will implement some of the major provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA).
CHANGES EFFECTIVE FROM 6 APRIL 2026
1. Protective Award Cap Doubles to 180 Days
The maximum protective award for failure to comply with collective redundancy consultation requirements will double from 90 to 180 days’ gross pay per affected employee. This represents a higher financial risk for employers and is designed to deter employers from bypassing their consultation obligations.
2. Day-One Family Leave Rights
For babies due on or after 5 April 2026, employees will be entitled to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave from their first day of employment, removing previous service requirements.
A new bereaved partner’s paternity leave allows up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave if the child’s primary carer dies within the first year after birth or adoption.
Statutory Paternity Pay still required 26 weeks’ service, so some leave be unpaid unless enhanced pay is offered by the employer.
3. Sexual Harassment Added to Whistleblowing Categories
Disclosures related to sexual harassment (whether it has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur) will qualify for whistleblowing protection. These amendments ensure that workers who report sexual harassment are protected from detriment and unfair dismissal, providing them with legal safeguards against adverse treatment by their employers.
4. Simplified Trade Union Recognition Process
Provisions simplifying the process of trade union recognition come into force. The act aims to provide better access arrangements for trade unions, address unfair practices more effectively and introduces a framework for trade unions to negotiate access to workplaces with employers, granting the Central Arbitration Committee the authority to impose access under certain conditions.
5. New Duty to Keep Annual Leave Records for Six Years
From 6 April 2026, employers will be required to keep records of annual leave for six years. Prior to the regulations being published there had been no indication that this obligation was going to come into force this April. The records of annual leave must be adequate to demonstrate compliance with the right to paid annual leave. Failure to comply with this duty constitutes a criminal offence, punishable by a fine. These records can be created, maintained, and kept in any manner or format that the employer reasonably deems fit, provided they meet the adequacy requirement to show compliance with annual leave entitlements.
CHANGES EFFECTIVE FROM 7 APRIL 2026
6. Establishment of the Fair Work Agency
From 7th April 2026, the Fair Work Agency, a new enforcement body, is established. The regulations acknowledge its broad enforcement power. The Fair Work Agency does not possess a distinct legal identity but operates through functions assigned to the Secretary of State. These functions include enforcement of various employment legislations including National Minimum Wage, agency worker protections, and gangmaster licencing. Over time, the Fair Work Agency will take on enforcement of additional rights such as holiday pay. It will have powers to investigate breaches, issues civil penalties and take action against labour exploitation.
Interestingly, the Regulations make no mention of arguably the biggest change due to come into effect next month, being the removal of waiting days and the lower earning limit for statutory sick pay. We expect the regulations dealing with these changes to be published imminently.
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