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This article summarises the routine employment law changes that came into effect from April 2026.
These include increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, updates to statutory payments including SSP and family-related leave payments, changes to the maximum week’s pay used when calculating statutory redundancy pay and unfair dismissal awards, and revised compensation limits for employment tribunal claims.
Our one-page Factsheet below provides an overview of the key statutory rates, payments and employment tribunal compensation limits effective from April 2026.
As well as these annual changes, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA), which was enacted in December 2025 introduces significant wider reforms to employment law. Several key ERA measures are already in force from April 2026, with further reforms due to be implemented in October 2026 and throughout 2027.
For the latest details of the practical impact and steps employers must take now to prepare for the ERA implementation phases, please see our dedicated article “Implementing the Employment Rights Act 2025: timelines, updates & practical tips for employers”.
For completeness, we have also highlighted below the key ERA measures that came into force from April 2026, together with links to our dedicated guidance where further detail is available.
1 April 2026 Increases to National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage
National Living Wage (for those 21 and over) increased to £12.71 an hour, up from £12.21.
National Minimum Wage for 18-to-20 year-olds increased to £10.85 an hour, up from £10.00.
National Minimum Wage for those under 18, and for apprentices increased to £8 an hour from £7.55
The daily accommodation offset rate is £11.10. This represents the maximum amount employers can deduct daily from an employee’s minimum wage pay for providing living accommodation.
This is the amount that employers can count towards the NMW or NLW when they provide accommodation to workers.
The increases to the younger age bands continue the Government’s longer-term objective of moving towards a single adult rate for workers aged 18 and over. The 18-to-20-year-old rate has seen particularly significant increases over the last two years as part of that policy. The Employment Rights Act will eventually remove what the Government describes as “discriminatory age bands” so that all adults of 18 and over are entitled to the same minimum wage.
Download our one-page Factsheet providing an overview of the key statutory rates, payments and employment tribunal compensation limits from April 2026.
2. April 2026 annual increases to statutory payments
Statutory maternity pay rises £187.18 to £194.32 per week from 5th April 2026.
Statutory paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental bereavement and neonatal care pay similarly rise from £187.18 to £194.32 per week from 6th April.
Statutory sick pay rises from £118.75 to £123.25 per week from 6th April 2026.
Note that under the Employment Rights Act 2025, from 6th April 2026, SSP is paid from day 1 of sickness, with the removal of the 3 day waiting period and the removal of the lower earnings threshold to qualify. The rate of SSP is now set at whichever is the lower of the flat rate (£123.25 per week) or 80% of the employee’s weekly income. Ensure payroll systems reflect this and, plan for an increase in short term sicknes absence, and more SSP costs.
3. April 2026 Increases to compensation limits and minimum amounts that apply regarding certain tribunal awards
The cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal also increases from £118,223 to £123,543 (or 52 weeks’ pay, whichever is lower).
Remember that the cap on the compensatory award for undair dismissal is being abolished for dismissals occuring on or after January 2027.
The limit on a week’s pay used for calculating the unfair dismissal basic award, and statutory redundancy pay among other things, increases from £719 to £751.
Employment Rights Act 2025: Changes from April 2026.
For further details, see the links below or our guide to implementing the Employment Rights Act 2025.
- The Fair Work Agency became opeational , bringing together existing employment rights enforcement functions and giving the Government greater powers to enforce workplace rights, including holiday pay and SSP.
- Statutory sick pay (SSP) becomes a day 1 right, as above.
- Unpaid parental and statutory paternity leave became a day 1 right.
- The restriction on taking pernity leave after a period of shared parental lave was removed.
- The maximum protective award for collective redundancies doubled from 90 to 180 days for dismissals on or after 6 April.
- Employees who report sexual harassment benefit from enhanced whistleblowing protection. For further detail, see our article to implementing the Employment Rights Act 2025.
- Trade union recognition process is simplified, making it much easier for unions to require employers to recognise them for collective bargaining on pay and conditions.
- Large employers (those with 250+ epmployees) can choose voluntarily to publish equality action plans (which will become mandatory from 2027) alongside their gender pay gap data. Plans must focus on reducing the gender pay gap and supporting staff through the menopause. The Government has published a suite of guidance and list of actions to assist employers in preparing their plans.
As mentionned, further significant reforms, including the extension of Employment Tribunal time limits and changes to unfair dismissal rights, are due to be implemented later this year, in October 2026 and throughout 2027. For the full picture, please do see our guide to implementing the Employment Rights Act 2025 for further details.
We appreciate the challenges that current employment law reforms are creating for employers. Our role is to cut through the complexity, explain what the reforms mean in practice and help you implement the changes swiftly and with confidence to remain de risked compliant in a changing landscape. If you have any questions or need advice, please get in touch.
