The first set of commencement regulations for the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“the Act”) was issued on 5 January 2026, which brought different parts of the Act into force on 6 January 2026, with further provisions due to come into effect on 18 February and 6 April 2026.

The provisions that came into force on 6 January 2026 did not create any new employment rights. Instead, they mostly gave the Government powers to introduce further regulations and codes of practice in areas such as zero‑hours arrangements, flexible working, family‑related leave, non-disclosure agreements related to discrimination and harassment, fire‑and‑rehire practices, collective consultation, public sector outsourcing, umbrella companies, trade union access and protections, and labour market enforcement.

This JEL Alert focuses on the changes that you, as an employer, should now prepare for, namely those changes due to take effect on 18 February and 6 April 2026.

Parental and paternity leave- day one rights

The qualifying service requirements for employees to have the right to statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will be wholly removed on 6 April 2026. From the same date, employees will also be able to take paternity leave after a period of shared parental leave.

Transitional arrangements will operate from 18 February 2026 so that employees who become entitled to parental or paternity leave on or after 6 April 2026, can give the necessary notice (as outlined below), and provide the required evidence in advance.

Where a child’s mother or adopter has died, employees will have day one rights to paternity leave and will be able to take paternity leave after a period of shared parental leave from 18 February 2026.

Statutory notice requirements and temporary transitional rules for paternity leave

In respect of parental leave, employees must give at least 21 days’ notice before taking parental leave (or as soon as reasonably practicable in adoption cases).

For paternity leave, employees ordinarily must give 15 weeks’ initial notice from the baby’s due date for paternity leave (or within seven days of being notified of an adoption match), and at least 28 days’ notice of the dates on which, and the duration for which, they intend to take the leave.

A temporary relaxation will apply for initial notices of paternity leave between 18 February and 25 July 2026. During this period, some employees will not need to meet the usual 15‑week initial notice requirement. This applies where the baby is due between 5 April and 25 July 2026 and the employee has been employed for less than 26 weeks at any point during the qualifying week (which is the 15th week before the due date). However, they will still be required to give the aforementioned 28 days’ notice.

Trade unions and industrial action

A number of changes affecting trade unions and industrial action will come into force on 18 February 2026, alongside transitional and saving provisions.

Employees will have protection against detriment for taking part in industrial action. However, there will be no enforceable rights until further regulations are introduced later in the year, setting out a prescribed description of “detriment”.

Several other reforms take effect automatically, on 18 February 2026. These include removing the automatic opt-out requirement for union political funds and lifting restrictions on check-off and facility-time reporting in the public sector.

The rules governing industrial action ballots are also being eased. The “support threshold” for industrial action ballots in important public services is being removed, and the information that must be included in ballot papers and notices is being simplified. Industrial action mandates will also last for 12 months, instead of 6 months, and unions will only be required to give employers 10 days’ notice before taking industrial action, instead of 14 days. Changes are also being made to union governance and the powers of the Certification Officer. Transitional arrangements mean that the new ballot requirements will not apply to any ballot that opened before 18 February 2026.

The Government have published guidance on the above changes relating to trade unions and industrial action, which you can find here. 

If you have any questions about how these upcoming changes may affect your business or organisation, or if we can provide support or assistance on any other employment law matter, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team on 0141 331 5150.