How the Employment Rights Act is changing family leave protections

Review family leave policies and raise awareness with managers about changes to family leave and improved protections against dismissal 

Situation before reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025

Eligible employees have long been entitled to statutory paternity leave and statutory unpaid parental leave. However, paternity leave was only available once an individual had been continuously employed for 26 weeks, and parental leave was only available once an individual had one year of continuous employment. 

Employees on certain types of statutory family leave have preferential rights in a redundancy situation, being entitled to be offered any suitable available vacancy before it is offered to others. This applies to those on maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, pregnant employees and those who have recently returned from maternity or adoption leave, and in some circumstances shared parental or neonatal care leave.

There is no statutory right for employees to take bereavement leave, other than parental bereavement leave, which is available if a child dies under the age of 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

All employees have the right to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off during working hours to deal with emergencies involving their dependants. 

Employees have the right to request flexible working arrangements, which can include remote work, job-sharing and compressed hours. (These rights are also being strengthened under the Employment Rights Act – read about this separately here.)

So what’s changed/changing and when?

Under the Employment Rights Act, statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day one rights from 6 April 2026. The Act also removed the requirement for paternity leave to be taken before shared parental leave (or be lost), giving employees more flexibility on which type of leave to take. (Note too that, as part of its plans to Make Work Pay, the Government launched a review of the parental leave and pay system on 1 July 2025 which is expected to run for 18 months.)

In addition, although outside of the Employment Rights Act, bereaved partner’s paternity leave was introduced from 6 April 2026; broadly, this enables bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or adopter dies in childbirth or within the first year of the child’s life.

In the future, the Employment Rights Act will introduce further significant changes to support working families, as follows:

• Protection from other types of dismissal (not just redundancy) for pregnant women and those on, or returning from, maternity leave or potentially from other types of family leave: This is expected to come into force from 2027. The Act includes little information on this right. However a Government consultation, which closed on 15 January 2026, sought views on issues such as:
  • what the specific circumstances for being able to dismiss a pregnant woman or new mother fairly should be;
  • when the enhanced dismissal protections should start and end;
  • any potential unintended consequences attached to this extension of rights and how to mitigate against these;
  • how to make sure pregnant women and new mothers are aware of the extension of rights;
  • how best to support businesses through the changes;
  • additional action that could be taken to tackle any workplace disadvantage triggered by pregnancy and maternity, and to support women who have experienced this; and
  • what other forms of family leave should be similarly protected. 
• A new statutory right to bereavement leave: Employees will get a statutory right to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave to grieve the loss of a loved one. Further to consultation, the Government has confirmed that bereavement leave will be available from day one of employment and will cover the loss of immediate family members, i.e. spouses, civil partners, partners in a committed long-term relationship, parents, adult children and siblings (biological, adopted, step and half). It will also cover equivalent parental relationships for those raised in kinship or foster care arrangements.
• A new statutory right to bereavement leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks: The Act will give parents who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks of pregnancy the right to up to rwo weeks of unpaid bereavement leave. The Government confirmed in its consultation response that leave for pregnancy loss will be available, from day one of employment, to the person who was pregnant, as well as a spouse, a civil partner, other parent or a partner in a committed long-term relationship. The leave will also be available to an intended co-parent and intended parents in surrogacy arrangements. All types of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks will be covered, including miscarriage, terminations, and IVF embryo transfer loss.

The new rules relating to leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss are expected to come into force via secondary legislation from April 2027. The Government will also publish guidance in due course.

What you need to do

• Update your family leave policies and practices as the changes take effect. (Watertight clients will have access to policies on our Watertight HR Hub, if you’re not a client and would like a fixed fee quote contact us today).
• Raise awareness among your managers on how the changes will impact your organisation. Your managers will need updated guidance on correctly applying the new rules. 

How Bhayani Law can help you

The Employment Rights Act strengthens protections for working families and widens access to family leave. For employers, this increases the need for clear policies, consistent decisions, and confident managers.

Our HR and legal experts can help you put the right foundations in place and reduce the risk of mistakes as the changes come into force. We can support you with:

• Updating family leave policies and documentation: Reviewing and updating policies including maternity, paternity, parental, adoption, and compassionate leave policies, so they reflect new day-one rights and extended protections. 
• Manager guidance and training: Helping managers understand what has changed, and how to handle sensitive situations fairly, reinforced through practical development including our HR Essetnials Training. 
• Managing dismissal and redundancy risk: Practical guidance to help you apply enhanced dismissal protections correctly for pregnant employees and those on, or recently returning from, relevant family leave. 
• Supporting bereavement and leave for pregnancy loss: Advice on introducing bereavement leave in line with new statutory rights, including support for pregnancy loss, and handling these situations with care. 
• Embedding changes into day-to-day practice: Helping you to move beyond policy updates, so changes are understood, applied correctly, and reflected in real workplace decisions. 

Already working with Bhayani Law?

You will receive regular updates from us as new laws are introduced, so you can remain compliant.

We offer detailed HR and employment law resources, including template policies and letters covering family leave, on our Watertight HR Hub.

If you have questions or need advice, your dedicated advisor can assist with reviewing and updating policies, as well as advising on complex cases.

Our HR and legal team can also provide hands-on project support to ensure your organisation is ready for the changes.

New to Bhayani Law?

You do not have to prepare for these reforms alone. Whether you need one-off guidance or ongoing HR and legal support, we offer tailored services to suit your needs and help your business stay compliant.