Employment Rights Bill – preparing for the April 2026 changes

Robert Shore: Our advice broadly is, whether the Employment Rights Bill becomes
the Employment Rights Act this side of 2026 or not, you do need to prepare for important changes being introduced in April of next year.

Hello, and welcome to the Brightmine podcast, formerly known as the XpertHR podcast. Brightmine is a leading provider of people data, analytics and insight, offering employment law expertise, comprehensive HR resources and reward data to meet every HR and organisational challenge and opportunity. You can find us any time of the day or night at www.brightmine.com.

With the Employment Rights Bill expected to receive Royal Assent shortly, HR professionals should be readying themselves for the first big trance of employment law changes taking place in April 2026.

My name is Robert Shore, and today I am joined by Brightmine colleagues Stephen Simpson, who is here with me in the studio. Hello, Stephen.

Stephen Simpson: Hello, Robert.

Robert Shore: And Zeba Sayed, who is joining us remotely on Zoom. Hello, Zeba.

Zeba Sayed: Hello, Robert.

Robert Shore: They will be explaining what these amendments are and what employers can do to prepare for them. Now, I used the phrase “with the Employment Rights Bill expected to receive Royal Assent shortly,” and that wasn’t intended to be controversial, but at this point you might be within your rights to say, ‘What do you mean by “shortly”? This year or next year?’ The assumption was that the Employment Rights Bill would be the Employment Rights Act by now. We’ll be talking through the remaining Parliamentary process in a moment, but I think our advice broadly is, whether the Employment Rights Bill becomes the Employment Rights Act this side of 2026 or not, you do need to prepare for important changes being introduced in April of next year

So, we’re recording this on 21 November 2025 but we think that whatever happens next in terms of that Parliamentary process, what we say today will hold true, and where there is uncertainty we will be signalling it clearly. So you can listen with confidence.

Right Zeba, let’s jump straight into it. What is the Employment Rights Bill, what’s happening with it, and can you talk us through its legislative journey?

Zeba Sayed: Yeah. So the Employment Rights Bill contains the Government’s proposals to significantly reform employment law. Technically a bill isn’t legislation; it’s proposed legislation. Labour introduced the bill to Parliament in October 2024, and since then it’s been making its way through the legislative pipeline.

So to give you some context, it started off as a 159-page document and since then it’s doubled in size. So that gives you an idea of the breadth of the changes over the last year.

Now, once a bill has gone through all the formal stages and it’s approved by both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, it then gets Royal Assent.

Robert Shore: What happens at that stage? Is King Charles involved directly or is it a rubber stamp?

Zeba Sayed: Basically, Royal Assent is a final step, and it’s when a bill becomes an act. And it’s at that point that it becomes legislation. Now, we expected the bill to receive Royal Assent earlier this month but things have been delayed as the bill is now stuck in a Parliamentary ping-pong phase.

Robert Shore: What does that involve?

Zeba Sayed: Yeah, so this refers to the process in which a bill goes back and forth between the two Houses until they reach an agreement. So we’ve seen at least three rounds of ping-pong so far. The House of Lords amended certain provisions that they considered were too onerous, especially on SMEs. The bill then returned to the House of Commons. In a nutshell, I think it’s really unlikely that Royal Assent can be achieved before the end of the year. It doesn’t look like the Lords will back down. We don’t have a confirmed date for when this will go back to the Commons. And remember that Parliament won’t sit between 19 December and 4 January because it’s their Christmas recess.

In any event, it’s really important to note that once the bill has formally passed it doesn’t all end there. In fact, it’s just the beginning. We’ll have to wait for regulations to flesh out some of the detail. There’ll also be new and updated Government guidance for some of the reforms, and new and updated codes of practice that will provide some of this detail as well. But these won’t be published at the same time; they’ll be gradually published once the bill is passed.

Now, alongside all of this we have got ongoing consultations between the Government, trade unions and industry bodies to help shape what these reforms will look like and how they will work in practice.

Robert Shore: So, even after Royal Assent there’s still a lot to come. But how should employers start preparing now, given this uncertainty?

Zeba Sayed: Well, on 1 July the Government published an implementation roadmap, which is essentially a timetable of when the changes are expected to take place. Although Royal Assent is still pending, the reforms could still be implemented in line with this roadmap, which we’re going to talk through today, but obviously while we’re in this game of ping-pong the timetable could slip so things are subject to change.

Robert Shore: Thank you so much, Zeba, for that introductory preamble. Stephen, let’s bring you in at this point. Phase One of the trade union reforms contained within the bill takes effect before April 2026. What’s the timing for that?

Stephen Simpson: That’s right. The Employment Rights Bill contains a wide variety of trade union reforms, Phase One of which is expected to come into force two months after the bill gets Royal Assent. So that would be before April 2026. The changes in Phase One largely involve the repeal of major elements of the Conservatives’ Trade Union Act 2016.

Robert Shore: Right. And what are the key changes?

Stephen Simpson: So, the key changes in Phase One are firstly an extension of the mandate for industrial action from six months to twelve months, with the Government’s core idea there being a reduction in the cost of reballots, allowing mandates to continue for longer where they still have member support. The Government has decided that most industrial disputes are concluded within a year.
Secondly, simplifying information required on ballot notices so that the trade union no longer has to provide information on the number of employees in each category or workplace, or explain the total number, how the total number was determined by the union. And thirdly, there will be a reduction in the notice period for taking industrial action, with a ten-day notice period replacing the current notice period of fourteen days.

Robert Shore: Great. And there are also a number of public sector-specific reforms to trade union laws, I think?

Stephen Simpson: That’s right. There are also a number of tweaks to industrial relations law in relation to the public sector. There will be the removal of the 40% support threshold for industrial action in important public services – so a reminder, that’s health, transport, education, border security and fire services – plus the removal of the requirement for public sector employers to publish facility time details.

And last but not least, the period of protection against dismissal for taking industrial action is being extended from twelve weeks to the actual length of action.

Robert Shore: So what can employers do now to prepare for Phase One of the trade union reforms which, as we’ve said, follow on from Royal Assent?

Stephen Simpson: Yes. So these changes are relatively esoteric, but employers in heavily unionised environments will still want to review their processes for handling industrial action. These employers can identify and prepare to update and references that they might have in policies, internal training and other communications. So references to notice periods for industrial action, length of the mandate for industrial action and protection against dismissal for taking industrial action.

Robert Shore: Now, obviously this is quite a lot of work for employers. What’s the positive slant that employers can put on having to make these changes?

Stephen Simpson: So what I’d say is use these changes both in the Phase One trade union changes and in the Phase Two changes which Zeba is going to talk about next as a positive. Really use it as an opportunity to build constructive relationships with unions and employee reps which might help to reduce the risk of disputes later.

Robert Shore: So Zeba, tell us about Phase Two of the trade union reforms. These are supposed to come in in April 2026 according to the roadmap that you mentioned. And what’s the big headline for this phase?

Zeba Sayed: Yeah, so we expect to see changes to simplify the recognition process. The bill does this by amending the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act.

Robert Shore: Perhaps the easiest way of approaching this is if you tell us how the process works at the moment.

Zeba Sayed: So currently, if an employer and a union fail to reach an agreement for statutory recognition, the union can make an application to the Central Arbitration Committee (also known as the CAC).

Robert Shore: Okay. And what does the application involve?

Zeba Sayed: Well, it involves several convoluted stages. So, first off the CAC will consider an application, but only if at least 10% of workers in the proposed bargaining unit are members of that union (so this is known as the 10% text) and they’re satisfied that the majority of workers in that group would favour recognition.

Robert Shore: And the union must provide evidence of this?

Zeba Sayed: Exactly. So if the CAC decided that these conditions are met, it moves forward and will consider that application. The union and the employer are then given some time to decide which workers will be included in the bargaining unit. Once the bargaining unit is confirmed, the CAC must then decide if it can grant union recognition automatically or if a ballot is needed. Now, if the majority of workers in the bargaining unit are members of the union, recognition is usually automatic. If not, there’s a ballot.

Robert Shore: And what is the threshold in the ballot?

Zeba Sayed: So the majority of workers must vote yes to recognition, and those yes votes must represent at least 40% of the workforce in the bargaining unit. If those thresholds aren’t met, the application is then refused.

Robert Shore: Okay. So this is the current situation. It does sound quite complex. How is the bill proposing to change things?

Zeba Sayed: So, the bill simplifies the process by removing some of the thresholds. So, during the application process unions won’t have to demonstrate that at least 50% of workers support recognition, so that’s a big change. Also, the Secretary of State will be given the power to reduce the 10% membership test. We don’t know what that
figure will be reduced to, but it could be as low as 2%. So again, this will make it a lot easier for unions to get that application process going.

Turning to the ballot, the bill removes the requirement that at least 40% of workers in the bargaining unit must support recognition. So essentially, this means that unions would only need to secure a simple majority of those voting to win.

Robert Shore: Okay. That really is quite a big shift. What about protections during this process?

Zeba Sayed: So the bill introduces stronger protections against unfair practices during the recognition process. Currently employers are restricted from engaging in certain unfair practices but only after the CAC has ordered a ballot. Going forward, the restriction will apply for the point at which the CAC accepts an application. So employers will need to be mindful of this and a lot more careful during recognition campaigning.

Robert Shore: Okay. And union access during a recognition process – what’s changing there?

Zeba Sayed: So, a new formal timetable will be introduced for negotiations. If agreement can’t be reached between the employer and the trade union within a 20-day timeframe the CAC will have the power to intervene and impose those terms.

Robert Shore: Right. Let’s talk industrial action. What’s new there?

Zeba Sayed: Well, we expect two major changes in April 2026 on this front. Currently, at least 50% of trade union members must turn out and cast a vote for a ballot to be valid, and more than 50% of those must vote in favour of industrial action. Under the bill, the 50% turnout is scrapped, which means that unions will only need to secure a simple majority of those voting for it to be successful.

And finally, electronic and workplace balloting will also be introduced in April 2026. Taken together, this is all going to make industrial action a lot easier, less onerous and less costly for unions to organise.

Robert Shore: Okay. And we were talking about the ping-pong process currently at play between the Commons and the Lords. Part of that is that the Lords want to keep the 50% threshold. Is that right?

Zeba Sayed: That’s right, but the Commons have rejected that, so this is all still under debate.

Robert Shore: So given that uncertainty, what can employers do now to prepare?

Zeba Sayed: Employers without a recognised trade union, check whether you have effective consultation mechanisms in place. Do have staff councils. If you do, engage with them constructively. If you don’t, consider introducing them and work on building trust, so that if any issues do arise in the future there’s already a strong, collaborative
relationship there.

Robert Shore: So that’s really advice for less unionised environments. But if you do already recognise a union, what’s the advice?

Zeba Sayed: The advice is to continue to maintain a constructive and positive working relationship there, and also ensure that any dispute resolution procedures that you have are current and effective.

Robert Shore: Okay. And you mentioned the consultations at the outset. Are any of those open at the moment?

Zeba Sayed: Yes, on the draft code of practice on electronic and workplace balloting. It’s open until 28 January, so do get involved if you want your voice heard. Consultations have opened up on other areas of trade union reform, but not specifically on the recognition process, so do keep looking out for that one too.

Robert Shore: Great. Now let’s talk about fair work agency. Stephen, the establishment of this from April 2026 is an intriguing prospect, isn’t it?

Stephen Simpson: Yes, for me one of the most intriguing elements of the bill is the establishment of a new Fair Work Agency which, as it stands from the Government’s current roadmap, is due to launch in April 2026.

The Government’s stated aim is to consolidate enforcement of employment law into one body, with stronger powers to investigate and take action against unscrupulous employers.

Robert Shore: Okay. So what bodies is it replacing?

Stephen Simpson: So the Fair Work Agency is expected to replace three existing regulatory bodies. Those are the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, National Minimum Wage enforcement teams that currently sit in HMRC, and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

Robert Shore: What employment laws will the Fair Work Agency be tasked with enforcing?

Stephen Simpson: So in particular, the agency will have responsibility for enforcing rules around the national minimum wage, statutory sick pay, holiday pay, employment agencies and modern slavery. However, immigration and right-to-work checks will remain largely within the Home Office’s remit. Some of those areas are already enforced by existing bodies, for example national minimum wage by HMRC, employment agencies by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and modern slavery by, among others, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. However, there hasn’t previously been a specific body tasked with enforcing either statutory sick pay or holiday pay.

Robert Shore: Yeah. Statutory sick pay – we’re going to return to that, aren’t we, shortly? But in terms of the Fair Work Agency, does anything else jump out at you about it? I mean, obviously it doesn’t exist yet, does it?

Stephen Simpson: One particular area of intrigue here is the proposal for the agency to have the power to bring tribunal claims on behalf of a worker if the worker has the right to bring a claim but it appears they’re not going to do so. Any financial award from a successful claim would still go to the worker. This would be a new thing, really, for employment law in the UK, and it remains to be seen how often the agency would make use of this power and whether there might actually be unintended consequences, such as the risk of victimisation against a worker who, in some circumstances, might not even want to be made a party to a claim. That’s to say nothing of additional Fair Work Agency-led claims potentially further stretching the already under pressure employment tribunal system.

Robert Shore: Yes. So what, if anything, can employers do to prepare for the Fair Work Agency?

Stephen Simpson: Really there’s less direct action for employers to take here compared with some of the other April 2026 developments we’re talking about today. But there are still some things that employers can do. For example, larger organisations may want to put someone on monitoring duties to keep an eye on how the Fair Work Agency’s remit develops.

Robert Shore: Okay. And are there certain sectors in which this is particular important?

Stephen Simpson: Sure. So certain sectors where national minimum wage enforcement is an issue, such as retail, hospitality and agriculture may be particularly interested in how the agency’s enforcement activities develop, especially during the body’s infancy.

Robert Shore: So what else can employers do now?

Stephen Simpson: Now would be a good time to review policies and practices around holiday pay and statutory sick pay, as I do think it is significant that those two areas have not previously had a body charged with their enforcement.

Other things employers could start to thing about now are enhancing whistleblowing channels by fostering a culture where employees feel safe reporting concerns. After all, it’s always going to be better to tackle problems on the ground early, long before the new agency has to get involved.

Robert Shore: Okay. Before we move on, any final thoughts on this new agency?

Stephen Simpson: Yes. Finally I’d say look at due diligence on supply chains, including contractors, umbrella companies and outsourced services, since the agency may hold end users accountable for third-party violations.

Robert Shore: Right. I’ll cover the next change as it’s fairly straightforward. This is the doubling of the protective award in short, which in slightly more elaborated terms translates as an increase in the maximum compensation that a tribunal can award where an employer fails to comply with their collective redundancy consultation obligations, known as the protective award. And the Employment Rights Bill is doubling this maximum protective award from 90 to 180-days’ pay.

So it’s going to get up to twice as expensive if employers fail to comply with their consultation requirements when proposing to dismiss an employee as redundant.

So, to head off any such expensive mistakes it would be a good idea to audit current practices, assess your current approach to collective consultation obligations for any shortcomings given the significant financial penalties, plan ahead, ensure that systems for reviewing thresholds and triggers for collective consultation are up-to-date, and of course provide all relevant staff with refresher training on collective consultation obligation.

Right. Another reform we expect to see coming in in April 2026 is that sexual harassment will be added to whistleblowing legislation. Zeba, before we get to the change, can you remind us what whistleblowing means?

Zeba Sayed: Sure. The term has a specific meaning in employment law. Not every complaint is recognised as a whistleblowing complaint. To get protection under the Public Interest Disclosure Act the complaint must meet a specific legal test.

Robert Shore: Okay. And what does that test involve?

Zeba Sayed: So, first there has to be what’s called a ‘qualifying disclosure’. This means that there has to be a disclosure of information which reveals wrongdoing. The person making the disclosure must reasonably believe that what they’re saying is related to one of these six categories. So, a criminal offence; a failure to comply with a legal obligation; a miscarriage of justice; a risk to the health and safety of an individual; damage to the environment; or an attempt to cover up any of those things.

If the complaint falls under one of these six categories and it’s made with a reasonable belief that it’s in the public interest, it becomes a qualifying disclosure. And if that qualifying disclosure is made to an appropriate or authorised person, such as an employer or a regular, it then becomes a protected disclosure.

Robert Shore: And what does ‘protected disclosure’ mean for the worker?

Zeba Sayed: It means that the worker is protected from being subjected to any detriment – so things like being bullied or harassed or demoted – because they made that disclosure. And if they’re dismissed because of that protected disclosure it’s automatically unfair, which means that there’s no minimum service requirement and there’s no cap on compensation.

Robert Shore: So what is the bill going to change?

Zeba Sayed: The bill introduces a new, seventh category of wrongdoing about sexual harassment. So going forward, if someone reasonably believes that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur, and they disclose it to an appropriate person, that will count as a protected disclosure in its own right.

Robert Shore: Okay. So is this a big shift in the law?

Zeba Sayed: Not really. It just means that an individual making a disclosure about sexual harassment can rely on this new, seventh category, rather than having to squeeze it into one of the existing categories to get that protection.

Robert Shore: Now, of course we’re going to be seeing a lot more change to the law around harassment, but that’s not happening in April 2026, is it? So what’s coming and when?

Zeba Sayed: So, the Government roadmap states that in October 2026 employers will have to take all reasonable steps, rather than just reasonable steps, to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. We will also see the introduction of employer liability for third-party harassment across all protected characteristics, which is a significant change and likely to be quite onerous.

Robert Shore: Yes. So what should employers do now?

Zeba Sayed: I think now is a really good time to audit your current practice. Audit how you’re assessing, managing and preventing harassment, including from third parties. Plan ahead. Think about how you can build a harassment-free environment. We have a brilliant leading practice guide that can help you with this. We have a risk assessment that you can use as well. Also, if you have a whistleblowing policy and it contains a section on the six categories on wrongdoing, this will need to be updated to include sexual harassment as well.

Robert Shore: Yes. And thank you there for mentioning, Zeba, that we have lots of excellent supporting materials on the Brightmine website.

Right, Stephen. Next up we should turn to the plan to turn both the paternity leave and ordinary parental leave into Day One rights.

Stephen Simpson: Yes. So as a reminder, that is the two-week statutory leave for fathers and the up to 18-weeks’ unpaid parental leave. So not shared parental leave; the other kind.

Robert Shore: What is the current legal position?

Stephen Simpson: Currently there are qualifying periods before employees become eligible for these types of leave. With statutory paternity leave, a key eligibility requirement currently is that the employee must have at least 26 weeks’ continuous employment as at the end of the fifteenth week before the expected week of childbirth. Likewise, an employee can take ordinary, unpaid parental leave only after they have accrued one year’s continuous service with the employer by the time they take the leave requested.

Robert Shore: Okay. And then the service requirement is being removed for both types of leave, is that right?

Stephen Simpson: Yes. So the bill includes provisions to remove the qualifying periods for both paternity leave and ordinary parental leave, making then Day One rights from April 2026.

Robert Shore: Yeah. And of course, Day One rights is quite a big theme in the Employment Rights Bill generally. So we know that this is expected to happen, as you say there, in April 2026, but do we have any more precise dates yet?

Stephen Simpson: We don’t yet have details of how this transition will happen, but judging by previous family leave changes, the changes to paternity leave will probably be applied to leave taken in relation to babies with an expected week of childbirth or an adoption situation date of placement for adoption on or after 5 April 2026. That’s because family leave changes are normally introduced on the first Sunday in April, and I see no reason why that won’t be the case here.

Robert Shore: Okay. And what about ordinary parental leave?

Stephen Simpson: Again it’s to be confirmed, but with the ordinary parental leave eligibility change, an educated guess is that we expect the change to apply in relation to requests for ordinary parental leave made on or after 5 April 2026.

Robert Shore: Okay, so not very far away. What can employers do now, right now?

Stephen Simpson: There’s no reason why employers can’t start gathering together their policies, training materials and other communications around paternity leave and ordinary unpaid parental leave. Look for references to eligibility or possibly some policies or other materials may refer to entitlement.

Robert Shore: And employers may have to run two version of that material for a while.

Stephen Simpson: employers may have to run two versions of their information for a period of time, i.e. the position of paternity leave where the expected week of childbirth is before 5 April versus a position with paternity leave where the expected week of childbirth is on or after 5 April, and similarly with ordinary parental leave. And the position with ordinary parental leave, where the leave requested starts before 5 April versus the position with leave where the requested leave starts on or after 5 April.

Robert Shore: Right. So a bit of a focus on that date, 5 April 2026, is what we’re expecting, and things change on that date and employers need to know that. What else could employers do?

Stephen Simpson: One other thing that employers could be thinking about now is whether they can tie in the April 2026 change with enhancing familyfriendly leave. At two weeks, statutory paternity leave in the UK is notoriously stingy. Brightmine’s own research shows that doubling paternity leave to four weeks is the most common approach among employers that do enhance it. Some employers have actually gone further and introduced an equalised parental leave policy, including law firm Lewis Silkin, which has a policy that gives all new parents up to 52 weeks’ leave, with 26 weeks at full pay. Brightmine has an example equalised parental leave policy based on Lewis Silkin’s policy, as well as a case study and podcast interview where we delve into how they implemented this innovative policy.

Robert Shore: We do, and I’ll put a link to some of that in the show notes. Right, last but not least in the spring changes, SSP. The Employment Rights Bill is making SSP, statutory sick pay, available to all workers by removing two existing barriers. First, the three-day waiting period. So sick pay is now payable from the first day of a period of sickness. And second, the requirement to earn at least the lower earnings limit. Employees will, after the change, be entitled to the current rate of SSP or 80% of their average weekly earnings if that is lower. So then we ask ourselves the questions, what are the implications and what can HR be doing to prepare for these changes? Well first, if your organisation currently pays only SSP, prepare for an increase in costs resulting from more employees being eligible and payment being required for the first few days of absence. So there are likely to be budgetary implications.

Second, prepare for a potential increase in short-term absence and decrease in presenteeism. Ensure that current absence management processes are effective and provide training for line managers were necessary.

So in a sense, the fact of SSP being paid from the first day means that potentially there will be greater absence but possibly of shorter duration because people will go off work immediately when they’re not feeling so well and be able to return more readily. I think that’s part of the calculation anyway.

And third, weigh up the potential positive impact on recruitment and retention of introducing an enhanced contractual sick pay scheme. If you do already enhance sick pay, consider whether your scheme remains an attractive benefit or whether further enhancement is an option.

But certainly, the change for statutory sick pay is one of the key things that’s happening in April 2026, and it’ll be interesting to see what its effect will be.

So there you have it. We’ve focused mostly today on what’s happening in April 2026, and indeed shortly after the bill receiving Royal Assent. We hope it’s provided you with some useful guidance on those upcoming changes, and steps you can take to prepare. And we do, of course, have a plethora of supporting materials on our
website, www.brightmine.com, and we will be putting links to some of those in the show notes.

So it just remains for me to thank Zeba and Stephen for joining me today, and to say, until next time