The Employment Rights Act is Here. Is Your HR
If it feels like UK employment law has shifted significantly in the past few months, that's because it has.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent in December and has been rolling out in phases ever since. April 2026 brought a wave of the most significant changes, and more are on the way in October 2026 and January 2027. It’s not a distant planning exercise. Changes are already in effect, and HR teams are feeling the weight of them.
What's already changed
From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay increased to £123.25 per week and is now payable from day one of absence, with the lower earnings limit abolished, meaning more of your workforce qualifies than before.
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are now day-one rights, meaning employees no longer need to have served 26 weeks before they're eligible. In practice, it means rethinking how you handle leave requests from day one of employment.
Perhaps most overlooked is the record-keeping change. From 6 April 2026, employers are now legally required to keep records of both annual leave entitlements and pay, retaining those records for six years. Failing to comply is an offence, punishable by a fine. Notably, the government did not previously signal an implementation date for this requirement, meaning many HR teams were caught off-guard.
What's still coming
There’s more still to come. Further changes will be introduced across 2026 and 2027, including changes to trade union legislation and reforms to protect employees against harassment. Changes to unfair dismissal protections will be introduced on 1 January 2027, but may require action now, including reviewing employment policies.
There’s no sign of that pace letting up, and for HR administrators trying to manage all of this alongside the day job, having proper systems underneath the function matters more than ever.
This is where StaffCentral comes in
StaffCentral is our HR management platform for UK HR teams and the employees they support. It brings employee records, leave management and documentation together in one place, with a clear audit trail that makes meeting the Employment Rights Act’s record-keeping requirements far less painful.
Whether it’s tracking leave entitlements from day one or keeping the records the legislation now requires, your team isn’t left relying on spreadsheets and email threads when they need to show compliance.
With more changes coming later this year, now’s a good time to check whether your HR systems are actually up to it.
Want to see how StaffCentral can help your team stay ahead of UK employment law? Get in touch today.
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