Employment Rights Act Policy explainer  Changes to family leave, April 2026

The Employment Rights Act became law in December 2025, and the reforms in the Act are being implemented at various points throughout 2026 and 2027.

The second wave of reforms – including changes to Paternity Leave, Unpaid Parental Leave, and Bereaved Partner’s leave – is coming into effect in Great Britain in April 2026.

From 6 April, employees are now eligible to give notice to take Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave from their first day of employment. At the same time, a new day-one right to Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave will be introduced.

What has changed?

• Employees can now give notice of Paternity Leave from day one of employment
• Employees can now give notice of Unpaid Parental Leave from day one of employment
• Fathers and partners can now take Paternity Leave and Pay after Shared Parental Leave and Pay
• Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave gives the right to take time off work will apply where an employee’s child is less than a year old, or within the first year of adoption, and their mother or primary adopter has died. Employees may be eligible for up to 52 weeks of leave, depending on when the bereavement occurs. There is no statutory pay requirement – paid leave is at employer discretion.

Note that continuity of service requirements for Paternity Pay remain unchanged.

Transitional arrangements for Paternity Leave

For newly eligible birth parents with a baby due before 26 July 2026, the notice period is temporarily reduced to 28 days. Standard notice requirements apply for those whose child is due on or after 26 July 2026. Standard notice requirements for adopters and birth parents who qualified before 6 April remain unchanged.

What do these changes mean for employers?

These reforms give greater flexibility to new parents and may increase the number of employees looking to take time away from work.

Employers can prepare for these changes by:

• Reviewing Paternity Leave and Parental Leave policies to reflect day-one eligibility, and creating/updating a specific policy for Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave
• Updating their employee handbook and any template documents
• Briefing line managers on the new entitlements
• Ensuring HR systems can process leave requests from new starters
• Adjusting long-term planning to account for more employees taking family-related leave

If you have any questions about these changes, you can reach out to the IoD’s Information and Advisory Service at [email protected]. Full IoD members can access professional advice on HR issues and employment law as part of their membership.