Employment Rights Act: What Absence Management Will Look Like in Practice
On the 18th December, the Employment Rights Bill completed it’s passage through parliament and became the Employment Rights Act 2025.
While the breadth of the proposed reform may seem daunting at first glance, the good news for employers is that implementation of the Act will take place at various stages over the following 12 to 18 months, allowing time to prepare and make adjustments in a considered way.
Some of the earliest provisions relate to industrial action, two major changes that will affect all employers from April 2026 relate to Statutory Sick Pay and Paternity and Parental Leave.
What’s changing?
Statutory Sick Pay
From 6 April 2026, employees and workers will become eligible for Statutory Sick Pay from the first day of sickness absence, meaning no more waiting days. Alongside this, the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay will be removed, meaning individuals who previously didn’t qualify for Statutory Sick Pay due to their earnings will now be entitled to receive it.
Statutory Sick Pay will be paid at the lower rate of 80% of their normal earnings, or the statutory flat rate, whichever is the lower of the two.
Family-friendly leave
Paternity leave will be brought into line with maternity and adoption leave, becoming a day one right and removing the 26-week qualifying period for leave. As is already the case with maternity and adoption leave, the qualifying period for Statutory Paternity Pay remains unchanged.
The qualifying period to take unpaid ordinary parental leave will also be removed, making this a day one right.
What does this mean for employers in practice?
With more workers being brought into scope for statutory entitlements and eligibility beginning earlier, it will be increasingly important for employers to ensure their processes are clear, consistent and well communicated.
Ahead of April 2026, organisations should consider:
- Review sickness absence reporting arrangements. With Statutory Sick Pay applying from day one, knowing where someone is absent through sickness will be more important than ever.
- Revisit your absence recording processes. Accurate recording of sickness absence periods will help ensure that workers receive the correct entitlements and reduce the risk of errors.
- Update contracts, handbooks and policies. Removing any reference to Statutory Sick Pay waiting days and the lower earnings limits, and ensuring that your family-friendly policies are updated to reflect the removal of qualifying periods for paternity and parental leave.
- Communicating changes clearly to employees. Manage expectations and support consistent adoption of new processes.
Turning policy into consistent practice
For many organisations, the real challenge will not be understanding the new legislation, but applying it consistently across day-to-day operations. This is particularly true in shift-based environments, where absence, eligibility and entitlements can vary significantly across roles and working patterns.
Employers should focus on ensuring absence is recorded accurately from day one, that eligibility is applied consistently and that managers have clear visibility of workforce data. Reducing manual processes and improving access to real-time information will be key to maintaining compliance and avoiding inconsistencies.
As statutory rights evolve, having reliable digital records will also play an important role in demonstrating compliance and supporting internal decision-making.
Looking ahead
With the next set of reforms under the Act expected in October 2026 and into 2027, getting ahead of the curve and considering the changes that your organisation may need to implement will be key to navigating these changes with confidence.
This article was prepared by Crown Workforce Management, specialists in workforce management solutions for complex, shift-based organisations.
Crown Workforce Management helps organisations simplify workforce management, streamline time and attendance processes, and ensure compliance across complex, shift-based teams.
