The Employment Rights Act 2025: Employer guide to key family leave changes

Being an employer today is no easy task. With legal reforms and shifting expectations around work and family life, it can feel like the goalposts are constantly moving. At the same time, businesses must balance operational demands with supporting their workforce and staying compliant with employee rights.

One of my main goals is to help clients navigate these obligations so they can focus on running their business. The Employment Rights Act 2025 represents the most significant overhaul of UK employment rights in a generation, and family-related entitlements are among some of the most impactful changes on the horizon.

While many of these reforms take effect from April 2026, it’s important to recognise that the practical impact for employers starts earlier. From 18 February 2026, employees who are newly eligible for day one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will be able to give notice of their intention to take that leave. In reality, this is when employers are likely to start seeing the operational effects of the changes.

Here’s what you need to know:

Family Leave Rights Will Be ‘Day One’ for All Employees

Statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will no longer require a qualifying period of service. Currently, most of these entitlements require an employee to have been employed for several months before they can take the leave. From April 2026, that qualifying period disappears.

In practice new starters can request paternity leave and unpaid parental leave from day one (but they aren’t necessarily entitled to pay – pay eligibility is still subject to separate rules). This aligns these entitlements with maternity leave, which is already a day-one right (but still subject to separate eligibility for pay).

Employer takeaway: HR and people managers must be ready to administer these rights immediately for new hires.

Paternity Leave and Shared Parental Leave Changes

Currently, taking shared parental leave can prevent someone from taking statutory paternity leave afterwards. That restriction is set to be removed from April 2026, meaning parents can take paternity leave even after shared parental leave.

Employer takeaway: Review internal policies so that sequencing and eligibility for leave is clear. Managers should understand the order in which leave may be taken and how pay rules interact.

Expanded Bereavement Leave (under consultation – expected 2027)

The law is proposed to broaden protected bereavement leave entitlements. At present, statutory parental bereavement leave applies only when a child under 18 dies or in the case of stillbirth after 24 weeks. The consultation proposes that employees experiencing pre-24-week pregnancy loss will also be entitled to protected leave, alongside parents bereaved of a child.

Employer takeaway: This change recognises the emotional impact of pregnancy loss and reflects a broader shift towards compassionate family rights. Policies, documentation and manager guidance should be revised accordingly.

Enhanced protection from dismissal following maternity leave (under consultation – expected 2027)

It is expected that protections currently in place for redundancy during or after pregnancy will be expanded to cover dismissal for any reason during the protected period, and will extend to other forms of family leave. Failure to comply is anticipated to result in automatically unfair dismissal.

Employer takeaway: Strengthened redundancy protections reduce risk.

What This Means for Employers

• Our overarching advice on all of these points is to ensure that you conduct a full review of your policies to ensure compliance with reforms when they come into effect.
• Manager training is also essential, so family leave rights are applied consistently and fairly.
• Workforce planning is more important than ever — sudden unplanned absence is no longer hypothetical, as family leave rights are now more accessible from day one.
• Documentation and communication matter: employers who handle leave well will retain trust and loyalty.

If you’d like our support with implementing any of these steps, please let us know.