The first meaningful wave of Labour’s Employment Rights Act changes comes into force from the 6 th April 2026, this article highlights the three most significant changes in our view: Paternity leave and Parental leave, SSP changes, updated rates for National Minimum Wage (from the 1 st April) and more. We have highlighted the basic changes needed to comply. Statutory Sick Pay The Employment Rights Act 2025 makes two significant changes to SSP from the 6 th April 2026 . The first is the removal of the 3-day ‘waiting period’ or ‘waiting days’, meaning that employees get SSP from the first day of sickness provided they comply with your internal absence reporting procedures. The second SSP change is the removal of the requirement for people to earn above the lower earnings limit (LEL). SSP will be paid at 80% of normal weekly earnings or the uprated weekly flat rate of £123.25, whichever is lower . It is suggested that you update your employment contracts and any sickness absence policy you have. It is also advisable to make sure the absence reporting procedure is crystal clear for all employees, leaving them no excuse for non-compliance. Statutory paternity leave and parental leave As part of the general Labour sentiment of strengthening employee rights across the board, the ERA 2025 abolishes the current 26-week qualifying period for statutory paternity leave making it a day 1 right. This applies to fathers or partners where the expected week of childbirth is the week commencing the 5 th April 2026 or after. It also applies if the child is born on or after 6 April, when the expected week of childbirth is before 5 April. The ERA also removes the one-year qualifying period for ordinary parental leave. Ordinary parental leave, available to eligible parents, is the right to unpaid time off work when staff need to look after their children and a maximum of 4-weeks (in one week blocks minimum) per year can be taken. It should be noted that this is unpaid. Each parent individually (not a collective right) can take up to 18 weeks leave total until the child reaches 18 years old. We suggest that you update your family leave policies to incorporate the removal of the eligibility periods for both paternity and parental leave. New NMW rates & Increased Statutory Rates From 1 st April 2026 (NOT the 6 th ) , all national minimum wage rates go up, some more than others. NMW for those above 21 years old rises from £12.21 to £12.71. The national living wage rises to £12.71 per hour. Employers of those aged 18 to 20 that see the biggest NMW rat rise, by 8.5%, to £10.85 from £10. All the statutory rates used for maternity and paternity pay, sick pay, and redundancy pay also increase. From the 5 th April 2026 , the weekly rates of statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental, neonatal care and parental bereavement pay increase from £187.18 to £194.32. Again, we suggest you check your payroll systems have updated figures and that any policies including these figures are updated. Most payroll systems should do this automatically but there is no harm in double-checking. As always, this advice is general in nature and will need to be tailored to any one situation. As an RMI member you have access to the RMI Legal advice line, as well as several industry experts for your assistance. Should you find yourself in the situation above, contact us at any stage for advice and assistance as appropriate. Motor Industry Legal Services Motor Industry Legal Services provides fully comprehensive legal advice and representation to UK motor retailers for one annual fee. It is the only regulated law firm in the UK which specialises in motor law and motor trade law. MILS currently advises over 1,000 individual businesses within the sector as well as the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) and its members.