Employment Rights Act 2025: changes from 1–7 April 2026

Three dates to circle: 1, 6 and 7 April 2026. That’s when important parts of the Employment Rights Act 2025 begin to apply. The instrument that turns the switch is S.I. 2026/323, made on 16 March 2026, signed by Kate Dearden at the Department for Business and Trade, and published on legislation.gov.uk. It also fixes an error in an earlier order, so it’s being issued free of charge to recipients.

Let’s keep this practical. If you’re a worker, a line manager, or a union rep, you’ll see movement on four fronts: speaking up about sexual harassment, dismissal after family leave, trade union recognition, and how the state enforces labour law. We’ll walk through each change, flag the exact dates, and explain what it means for your next HR conversation or grievance meeting.

From 1 April 2026, section 85 of the 2025 Act comes into force and removes a government power to impose a levy contained in the Act. For most of us this is background architecture rather than a day‑to‑day change, but it matters because it closes off a funding mechanism that might otherwise have been used later.

From 6 April 2026, disclosures about sexual harassment are explicitly protected. In plain English, if you raise concerns about sexual harassment, the law shields you from being treated badly for doing so. Alongside that, new limits apply to confidentiality clauses in harassment and discrimination contexts: employers must not use broad non‑disclosure wording to stop you seeking advice or reporting concerns. What this means: if you’re supporting a colleague or handling a complaint, you should assume people can talk to appropriate advisers and authorities even if a settlement includes confidentiality terms.

Also from 6 April, dismissal following a period of statutory family leave gets tougher scrutiny. If you’ve taken maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental leave and then face dismissal, new protections bite. What this means: employers will need stronger, well‑evidenced reasons and fair processes; workers should check the dismissal’s effective date because the new rule applies to dismissals taking effect on or after 6 April 2026.

There’s movement on contract change disputes too. The Act brings into force parts of a new protection around dismissal for refusing to accept a contract variation, and enables detailed regulations to be written under the Employment Rights Act 1996. What this means: consultation and evidence really matter. If you manage people, document the business case, the options you considered, and the alternatives you offered. If you’re an employee, keep a clear record of proposals, timelines and your responses.

Collective redundancy consultation sees a change to the protective award calculation window, with the increased maximum applying only where dismissals take effect on or after 6 April 2026. What this means: where consultation duties are breached, tribunals will have a wider period to calculate awards, raising the stakes for employers to plan early, inform and consult properly, and share meaningful information with reps.

Two quieter but important shifts also land on 6 April. Employers pick up a statutory duty to keep records relating to annual leave, and equality action plans are put on the statute book so ministers can require structured plans to tackle inequality. There’s also a clarification on agency workers so more people are squarely in scope of protections. What this means: HR teams should tighten holiday‑pay records and be ready to publish or update equality steps if regulations require it.

Social care gets a dedicated framework from 6 April too. The Act lets government establish a negotiating body for adult social care, setting out how it’s formed, what it can discuss, how agreements are ratified, and what records must be kept. What this means: if you work in or run a care service, keep an eye out for invitations to engage, because future pay and conditions discussions may run through a formal national body.

Trade union recognition rules are updated from 6 April. Unions no longer have to show at application stage that a majority of workers would likely favour recognition. In ballots, a simple majority of those voting can secure recognition, replacing the extra hurdle that also required 40% of the bargaining unit. Applications can proceed even where another, non‑independent union was previously recognised, if conditions are met. Transitional rules matter: if an application reached the Central Arbitration Committee before 6 April, or the CAC had already informed parties about a ballot, the old tests still apply. What this means: if you’re organising a workplace, check your key dates; if you’re an employer, expect more applications to be admitted and plan for constructive negotiation.

From 7 April 2026, a new state enforcement system starts operating for a defined list of labour laws. The Secretary of State can appoint enforcement officers with powers to request documents, enter premises under warrant, issue underpayment notices with penalties, and seek legally binding undertakings or court orders. There are appeal routes and safeguards (including on privileged material) and offences for obstruction or providing false information. Existing enforcement bodies are abolished by the Act, but there’s a bridging period: the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority’s complaints and misconduct rules continue with modifications, and in‑flight cases carry on, until replacement regulations are made. What this means: employers should audit pay, hours and record‑keeping now; workers should know that state‑led enforcement is being centralised and resourced.

One final detail to steady the launch: until a separate definition change fully takes effect, the Act temporarily reads ‘worker’ and ‘employer’ for enforcement purposes as including zero‑hours arrangements, so new powers can operate from day one. There are also technical corrections to earlier commencement regulations to tidy cross‑references. What this means: no loopholes on status for enforcement this April, and fewer paperwork errors in the law itself.

If you manage people, act this week: refresh your template NDAs in line with the harassment rules, check your redundancy consultation plans, and tighten holiday‑pay records. If you’re an employee or student of employment law, mark 6 and 7 April in your notes and keep the official text to hand. The source for everything here is S.I. 2026/323 on legislation.gov.uk, made on 16 March 2026; use it to check the exact wording when you need it.