Your guide to new Employment Rights 2026

Summary of changes

Trade union laws

From 7 April 2026:

New Fair Work Agency (FWA)

• A new single body enforcing employment rights.
• Combines several existing enforcement organisations.
• Includes: workplace inspections, issuing penalties for underpayment, taking legal action on behalf of workers and enforcing criminal labour law breaches.

From 6 April 2026:

Stronger penalties for employers who breach redundancy rules

• Maximum protective award doubled to 180 days' pay.
• Applies when employers fail to properly consult on collective redundancies.

Day-one parental leave rights

• Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave now available from day one of employment.
• Removes previous qualifying periods (26 weeks / 1 year).

Whistleblowing protection

• Sexual harassment is now a protected disclosure.
• Workers reporting it can be protected from unfair dismissal or mistreatment.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) reforms

• No minimum earnings threshold.
• Paid from day one (no waiting days).
• Lower earners receive 80% of average weekly earnings or £123.25 (whichever is lower).

Equality Action Plans

• From 2026: voluntary for large employers (250+ staff).
• From 2027: mandatory for those reporting gender pay gaps.
• Must include actions to reduce pay gaps and support issues like menopause.

Bereaved partner leave

• New day-one right to up to 52 weeks’ unpaid leave if a partner dies after childbirth/adoption.

Easier union recognition

• Simpler process for unions to gain recognition: No need to prove majority likely support upfront; simple majority vote is enough and employers can’t block recognition via alternative unions

From 18 February 2026:

The Employment Rights Act 2025 repeals major parts of the Trade Union Act 2016. Strong collective bargaining rights and unions are key to tackling problems of insecurity, inequality, discrimination, enforcement and low pay. The changes are as follows:

Simplified rules for taking industrial action

• The 40% support threshold for strikes in important public services (IPS) has been removed.
• Mandates for industrial action are increased to 12 months.
• Unions must give employers 10 days' notice of industrial action (previously 14).
• Unions no longer need to tell employers in advance how many workers in each role may strike.

Simpler ballot rules

• Ballot papers no longer need lengthy explanations of the dispute or action timetable.
• Members simply vote on the action they want to take: strike action or action short of a strike.

Changes affecting public sector unions

• Employers cannot charge unions admin fees for deducting subscriptions from pay.
• Public bodies no longer have to publish facility time data.
• The unused legal power to cap facility time has been removed.

Unfair picketing rules scrapped

• Unions no longer have to appoint a picket supervisor or follow the previous detailed supervisor requirements.

Stronger protection for workers

• Taking part in lawful industrial action is automatically protected from unfair dismissal, with no 12-week time limit.

Further details - before and after the law changes

The table below sets out the changes reps should be aware of - mostly repealing requirements and conditions introduced in the Trade Union Act 2016.

Parental leave

• From 6 April 2026, employees will be eligible for parental leave from the first day of employment. 

• Parents who become eligible on 6 April 2026 because of this law change can give notice from 18 February.

Resources

• Picketing: draft revised code of practice - GOV UK
• Industrial action ballots and notice to employers draft revised code of practice - GOV UK
• The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No.1 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026
• Trade union law: transition to Employment Rights Act 2025 - GOV UK