April 6th is already a historic date – it will be this year too

April 6th is the 706th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath when Scotland reaffirmed its independence. It’s the date the United States entered the First World War, declaring war on Germany and the 52nd anniversary of ABBA winning the Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo”. 

It’s also the date that several significant changes to UK employment rights that will reshape almost every aspect of the employer/employee relationship will come into effect.

Touching everything from contracts to dismissal, expanding workers day one rights and creating significant new obligations for employers – businesses need to be aware and prepared. 

Changes coming immediately on April 6th 2026

  • Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) becomes a day one right with a minimum earnings threshold and three-day waiting period removed.
  • Paternity Leave and unpaid parental leave also become day one rights allowing employees to take them from the start of employment.
  • A new body, the Fair Work Agency, launches combining enforcement of minimum wages, holiday pay and other rights.
  • Sexual Harassment duties on employers are strengthened including protection against third-party harassment while reporting it becomes a specified protected whistleblowing discloure.
  • New Trade Union Reforms (with more to come in October) simplifies the recognition process.
  • Protective awards for failing to consult on collective redundancies increase from 90 to 180 days.
  • Statutory paternity leave is introduced for bereaved partners.
  • Large employers with 250+ employees are encouraged to publish menopause and gender pay gap action plans.
  • The time limit to submit employment tribunal claims is extended to six months
  • Reforms are expected to reduce restrictions such as non-compete clauses on employees to support start-ups and entrepreneurship.

A survey conducted by Accountancy body ICAEW found that three quarters of respondents expected the Act to increase their employment costs and 53% said it would likely reduce their plans to hire permanent staff. 

There are several ways to prepare now to help smooth the transition and minimize legal or cultural risks to your business. 

Comply with SSP changes 

The biggest and most immediate changes to prepare for are the changes to statutory sick pay. 

Entitlement will now begin on the first day of absence for all workers, regardless of earnings with the rate of SSP calculated at 80% of usual weekly earnings or the flat rate, whichever is lower. 

Another concept to focus on here is to ensure that there are clear absence reporting procedures and consistent management oversight to maintain service levels while remaining compliant. 

Review existing contracts and policies

Begin an audit of existing employment contracts to ensure they comply with the new statutory rules, particularly the changes around statutory sick pay (SSP), zero-hours contracts and flexible working provisions. 

Many firms will already have these frameworks in place so the task is to ensure they align with the updated legislation. 

This is also a great opportunity to bring Internal documents such as handbooks and guides as well as contracts up to date to reflect how the business actually operates. Mismatches between what is written down and what happens in practice can create problems in any dispute – this will prevent that. 

It can be a common mistake to incorporate policies and procedures directly into employment contracts. If they are included in a separate staff handbook, they can be updated as and when any legislation changes, without the need for a consultation process every time. 

Audit record keeping

The commencement date for the new duty for employers to keep and retain annual leave records was confirmed as April 6th, which doesn’t leave much time to audit workers’ annual leave entitlements and pay and consider if there are any gaps needing to be addressed. 

Strengthen recruitment processes 

The qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims is being reduced from two years to six months from January 1st 2027 but it will impact employees being hired now.  As a result, firms should expect more scrutiny of decisions made within the first year and adjust their processes accordingly. 

This could include strengthening the recruitment process with clear role descriptions, defined interview processes and enhanced pre-employment checks. Where decisions are made informally or without clear reasoning, it becomes harder to defend them later. 

More effective management of probation periods

Active management of probation periods is critical including how they operate and how they are covered in policies and contractual wording. Current six-month probations could be reduced to three months to accurately give time to assess new hires before they automatically gain additional rights. 

Duty to prevent harassment

Another key development is the strengthened duty on employers to take proactive steps to prevent harassment now including third parties such as clients and suppliers. 

This could include bespoke risk assessments, reviewing and updating terms and conditions, policies and training staff, especially those that regularly interact with clients and external stakeholders. 

Regular education, messaging and visual reminders will be essential as long as ensuring there are clear confidential reporting channels in place to address concerns sensitively, quickly and effectively. Monitoring and evaluation will also be crucial from April 6th on. 

Unfair dismissal

The removal of the cap on compensation for unfair dismissal will be particularly significant for employers especially those with higher-paid employees. Removal of the cap is likely to lead to a change in approach to the management of senior employees and high earners, with a more procedure-driven approach being likely than is currently the case. 

Training

Managers are often the first point of contact for any inquiry or complaint so make sure they are properly trained and understand the updated redundancy and dismissal procedures, particularly in light of changes to unfair dismissal rules. 

The risk of getting things wrong will increase significantly with the launch of the Fair Work Agency so training on handling various requests including flexible working with emphasis on documenting any reasons for refusal and how to follow appropriate consultation procedures.

These changes are happening whether your business is prepared for them or not and will take up significant time and resources to implement them correctly – which you may not have if you’re already financially struggling. 

Get in touch with us quickly and we can arrange a free initial consultation with one of our expert advisors. 

You might have more options to make changes to your company than you think and if you’re thinking of closing down a solvent business then you could take advantage of a more generous tax regime if you act before April 6th.