2026 - the year ahead in employment law

With the Employment Rights Act finally gaining Royal Assent in December 2025, we take a look at what's in store for employment law in 2026. Our updated tracker highlights some of the key changes for 2026:

April 2026

New pay rates:

Each April new statutory minimum rates apply for the year ahead. From 1 April 2026, minimum pay rates per hour will increase to:

·         National Living Wage:

o 21 and over - £12.71 – 4.1% increase (or £977 increase per year for full time staff on NLW)

·         National Living Wage:

o   18-20 - £10.85 (NMW) – 8.5% increase

o   Under 18s - £8.00 (NMW) – 6% increase

o   Apprentice - £8.00 – 6% increase

From 6 April 2026, statutory parental pay (such as maternity pay) will increase from £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week.  Statutory sick pay will increase from £118.75 to £123.25 per week.  Statutory redundancy pay is also likely to increase, but details are not yet known. 

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) there will be changes to SSP (amongst other huge changes). From April 2026 employees who are off sick will receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the first day of their absence from work (currently only payable after day 4). The SSP lower earnings level and waiting days will be removed, meaning more people will be entitled to SSP from day 1 of sickness – estimated to be an additional 1.3 million workers.  

Collective redundancy protective award

Cap on the protective award for failure to consult collectively doubles from 90 to 180 days’ pay per employee.

Statutory sick pay and family leave

• Day one right to paternity leave (currently only available to those who have been working for more than 26 weeks) and unpaid parental leave (currently available after one year of work)

• Statutory sick pay reforms: Removal of the lower earnings limit and removal of the three-day waiting period

  
  

Trade union recognition

Lower membership threshold for statutory trade union recognition (between 2% and 10%) comes into force. Exact details are subject to a current consultation.

Whistleblowing

Reporting sexual harassment becomes a protected whistleblowing disclosure.

October 2026

Fire and Rehire

To prevent an employer dismissing an employee then offering a contract with less favourable terms such dismissals will become automatically unfair, except where necessary to address serious financial difficulties.

ET time limits

Currently the time limit for making most claims to the ET is three months less one day. This will increase to six months less one day. The early conciliation period for Acas was increased in December 2025 from six weeks to 12, due to unprecedented demand on its services and limited resources. The changes are designed to give a greater chance of

settlement, but will significantly extend the potential risk period for employers.

Equality – harassment

• Third-party harassment liability introduced:

  • Employers liable if they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment by customers, clients, or other third parties.

• Higher duty to prevent sexual harassment (requirement for employers to take "reasonable steps" now upgraded to “all reasonable steps” standard).

  
  

2027 and later

Collective redundancy - New second trigger for collective consultation based on redundancies across the business (threshold to be set in regulations).

Unfair dismissal

• Qualifying period reduced from two years to six months, effective for dismissals on or after 1 January 2027.

• Cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal removed (timing not confirmed, but expected to align with the shorter qualifying period).

Zero hours contracts

• Guaranteed hours offers in qualifying cases

• Reasonable notice of shifts and cancellations

• Compensation for cancelled or curtailed shifts

Regulation of umbrella companies

How we can help

Constantine Law can help you get ready for the implementation of the ERA.  We can provide practical guidance in respect of strategy, contract and policy review, plus workplace training, to ensure that your business is ERA ready.  You can keep up to date by joining our mailing list below.

Join our mailing list

Each quarter we issue the Constantine Law Quarterly Employment Bulletin - our workplace law update on legislation and case law changes.  You can join here.

Webinars

We also host free webinars aimed at business owners, senior managers and HR professionals, on a wide range of subjects, including the Employment Rights Bill, the new laws on preventing sexual harassment, menopause in the workplace etc. You can join here.

A bit about Constantine Law

We strive to protect our clients’ work – their businesses, their ideas, their jobs and their futures, so that they can prosper. 

Our team consists of employment, business immigration, regulatory and business crime specialists.  

Eleanor Rogers is a Senior Associate at Constantine Law.