Part 2: What to Expect in April 2026

April is always a pivotal month for employment law changes but the reforms taking effect in April 2026 represent one of the most substantial shifts employers have faced in recent years. Alongside annual adjustments to pay and statutory rates, this year introduces major reforms to family related leave, sickness entitlements, trade union legislation, and the enforcement of rights in the workplace. Below is a detailed overview of what is changing and how organisations should prepare.

Various key measures took effect in February 2026, laying the groundwork for the wider transformation that follows this spring.

Pre-April 2026 Changes We covered many of these changes in part 1 of this series, which you can access here. However, there is an important change regarding paternity and parental leave notices which took effect on 18 February 2026, and employers should be aware of this change and plan accordingly.

Paternity Leave Notices

With April set to expand entitlements to paternity leave, transitional arrangements began on 18 February. Newly eligible employees can now give notice that they intend to take paternity leave even before the new rights formally begin in April. The notice period for paternity leave has also been temporarily reduced from 15 weeks to 28 days between 18 February 2026 to 25 July 2026 (thereafter the usual notice periods will apply). An employee will not need to give 15 weeks’ notice if both of the following are true:

· their baby is due between 5 April and 25 July 2026

· they will have been employed for less than 26 weeks up to any day in the ‘qualifying week’.

April 2026 Reform

Rising Minimum Wage Rates

From 1 April 2026, all minimum wage bands will increase again. The National Living Wage, which now applies to workers aged 21 and over, rises to £12.71 per hour. Younger workers will also see notable uplifts, reflecting the government’s long-term ambition to narrow and eventually remove age related pay bands. The updated rates move to £10.85 for 18–20-year-olds and £8.00 for 16–17-year olds and apprentices.

With these increases, employers should ensure payroll systems are updated in advance and undertake checks to confirm their pay structures remain compliant. The introduction of the Fair Work Agency later in the month is also expected to strengthen enforcement of minimum wage requirements.

Statutory Payments

The Spring reforms also bring increases to a range of statutory family related payments. From 6 April 2026, the weekly rate for maternity, adoption, shared parental and neonatal care pay will rise to £194.32 once the initial higher rate period ends. This aligns with similar uplifts across statutory paternity, maternity and adoption pay more generally, which all increase to the same weekly figure.

As usual, April will bring revised rates relevant to redundancy payments and discrimination awards. This includes updates to the cap on a week’s pay for redundancy and new Vento band levels for injury to feelings compensation.

Paternity Leave and Family Leave

In addition to the financial changes, significant enhancements are being made to eligibility rules. Paternity leave will become a day one right for qualifying parents of babies born on or after 6 April 2026, or those born early whose expected date of birth falls after that point. Unpaid parental leave is also moving to a day one entitlement, removing the current one-year length of service threshold. However, these changes will not affect the eligibility for statutory paternity pay, which will retain a 26-week length of service requirement up to the end of any day in the ‘qualifying week’ (i.e. the 15th week before the baby is due).

These changes mean HR teams should revisit family friendly policies now, particularly where enhanced contractual benefits may need aligning with the updated statutory framework.

Statutory Sick Pay Reform

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will undergo both financial and structural reform in April 2026. The weekly rate will increase to £123.25 on 5 April 2026. However, the more significant shift will occur on 6 April 2026 when the three-day waiting period for SSP disappears, meaning SSP will become payable from the first day of sickness absence. The Lower Earnings Limit will also be abolished (currently £125 per week), expanding access to lower paid workers. Any eligible employees will be entitled either the weekly rate or 80% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Employees who earn below a certain threshold will receive either 80% of their normal weekly earnings or the SSP rate, whichever is lower. These changes will require employers to adjust systems and may have financial implications for businesses with high volumes of short-term absence. Employers should therefore reconsider their existing sickness absence processes given the initial three-day buffer for short-term absences will now disappear. The government currently estimates that these changes will result in 1.3 million additional employees within the scope of SSP.

Fair Work Agency

From 7 April 2026, a new enforcement body known as the Fair Work Agency (‘FWA’) will launch and amalgamate the functions of various existing regulators (including the minimum wage team within HMRC). The FWA be responsible for enforcing a wider range of employment rights, including holiday pay, national minimum wage and statutory sick pay, although the exact timeline for its full enforcement powers is still to be confirmed. The FWA will also be able to bring employment tribunal claims on behalf of workers. It remains to be seen how interventionist this body will be given the government’s stated commitment of economic growth.

Employers should consider carrying out internal compliance reviews now, with particular attention to holiday pay calculations and minimum wage checks, which are expected to feature prominently in the FWA’s early enforcement activity (albeit when this will commence remains unknown at the time of writing).

Holiday pay records

Section 35 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a new requirement for employers to keep records that are ‘adequate to show’ that it has complied with its obligations relating to annual leave. This will come into effect on 6 April 2026, and the records will need to include any payment in lieu of holiday pay as well as any variable pay components (i.e. commission, overtime, bonuses, any allowances). It will be a criminal offence not to maintain these records, and they should be kept for up to 6 years.

Protective Awards

A more significant shift takes effect on 6 April 2026, when the maximum period of the protective award for failure to engage in proper collective redundancy consultation will double from 90 to 180 days’ pay. This could materially increase the financial exposure associated with noncompliance during restructures, making careful planning essential.

Whistleblowing Protections and Harassment Disclosures

From 6 April 2026, sexual harassment will be explicitly included within the types of concerns that may constitute a qualifying disclosure for the purposes of whistleblower protection, provided the worker reasonably believes the issue is in the public interest. It may be worth amending any whistleblowing policy to reflect

Trade Union and Industrial Action Reform

The government’s programme of trade union reform continues into 2026, with several key measures taking effect on 6 April 2026. Recognition processes will become easier for unions, requiring only a simple majority of votes cast and membership levels of 10%, potentially as low as 2% under future regulations. Electronic and workplace balloting will also be introduced, alongside the removal of the 50% turnout threshold for strike ballots. In heavily unionised sectors we would recommend that employers consider engaging with trade unions to foster a respectful dialogue between unions and management.

Conclusion

With such an extensive package of reforms arriving in a single month, employers should begin preparing now. Updating policies, reviewing payroll and HR systems, and assessing compliance risks, particularly around minimum wage and holiday pay, will help organisations navigate the transition smoothly.

Please note the contents of this article do not constitute legal advice. If you require any further information or if you would like our assistance, please contact us at employment@berrysmith.com or on 02920 345 511.