Preparing for change: family rights under the Employment Rights Act 2025

Updated as of 18 December 2025

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is on track to introduce major reforms (as outlined in our overview of the Act), many of which will significantly enhance family-related rights.

In this blog, we explore the key new and expanded family-friendly rights that are set to shape the employment landscape in the coming years. We also highlight practical steps employers can take now to prepare for compliance and effectively support their workforce.

Key implementation dates

Several of the new rights introduced by the Act are scheduled to come into effect in April 2026 and 2027, marking key milestones in the rollout of these reforms:

April 2026:

Paternity and unpaid parental leave will become "day one" rights.

2027:

Pregnancy and maternity: enhanced protections against dismissal for pregnant workers and those on and returning from maternity leave.

Bereavement leave: new statutory entitlement, covering bereavement for non-parents and for early pregnancy loss.

Family rights: what is changing?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a suite of new protections and entitlements for working families, including enhanced rights around leave, protection from dismissal, and bereavement support:

Paternity and unpaid parental leave will become "day one" rights

Currently, eligibility for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave requires employees to have a minimum length of service in order to qualify. From April 2026, the current qualifying service requirements (26 weeks for paternity leave and one year for unpaid parental leave) will be removed. This means paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become entitlements from the first day of employment. This is already the case for maternity leave, although note that this is different from the right to maternity and paternity pay, which remains subject to certain eligibility criteria.

Employers are advised to ensure managers are aware that new employees may immediately qualify for these types of leave once this reform is implemented.

Paternity leave and pay will no longer be affected by taking shared parental leave

At the moment, employees lose their entitlement to paternity leave and pay if they opt to take shared parental leave first. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, this restriction will be removed, allowing employees to take paternity leave and pay even after they have taken shared parental leave and pay.

Maternity protection from dismissal will be subject to stronger safeguards

Pregnant employees and those on, or returning from, extended family leave are already afforded additional protection in redundancy situations. Since April 2024, pregnant employees have had the right to be offered suitable alternative employment (where available) from the point they inform their employer of their pregnancy. This protection continues throughout pregnancy and for 18 months following the child’s birth. Equivalent protection also applies to employees returning from shared parental leave or adoption leave, for a period of up to 18 months from the birth or the date of placement for adoption.

From 2027, these protections will be strengthened further when it becomes unlawful to dismiss a pregnant employee or one returning from maternity leave within six months of their return, except in limited circumstances (for example, gross misconduct or illegality). This enhanced dismissal protection will relate not solely to redundancy, but to any dismissal.

This reform is designed to address maternity and pregnancy discrimination and help to retain women in the workforce. For employers, it significantly raises the bar for lawful dismissal and redundancy decisions involving pregnant employees or new mothers.

The Act allows for a similar extension of enhanced dismissal protections to parents returning from other types of family-related leave (such as shared parental leave and adoption leave). However, no decisions have been made at this stage, and the matter will be subject to further consultation.

The Government's consultation on enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers is open until 15 January 2026. Details about what is covered in this consultation are here.

These additional protections will have a particular impact on organisations managing redundancy exercises. To ensure compliance, employers should take proactive steps to prepare managers, including providing training on the legal entitlements of affected employees. To safeguard against inadvertent discrimination, employers may want to consider implementing a protocol that records and flags employees with enhanced protections during redundancy processes.

Parental bereavement leave entitlement expanded to cover early pregnancy loss

The statutory right to bereavement leave currently applies only to employees who experience the loss of a child under the age of 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. In these circumstances, employees are entitled to two weeks of leave. Employees are also entitled to pay if certain eligibility criteria are met.

A July amendment to the Act confirmed that the Government will extend bereavement leave to employees who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including losses resulting from miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and unsuccessful embryo transfer during IVF treatment. Mothers and their partners experiencing pregnancy loss will be entitled to at least one week of unpaid leave.

This change recognises the emotional impact of early pregnancy loss and broadens the scope of compassionate leave. Employers will need to be prepared to review and update bereavement policies accordingly.

The Government's consultation on the new entitlement to bereavement leave is open until 15 January 2026. Details about what is covered in this consultation are here.

Bereavement leave will be a new entitlement for those other than parents

Currently, there is no statutory right to bereavement leave other than for parents grieving the loss of a child (as mentioned above).

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will give the government the power to introduce a "day one" right to bereavement leave for employees – although later regulations will confirm what conditions about the relationships with the deceased will apply to this type of leave. It is thought that the duration of leave will be at least one week. Unlike the current parental bereavement leave entitlement, this new general bereavement leave will be unpaid.

As mentioned above, the Government is consulting on this entitlement until 15 January 2026.  Details about what is covered in this consultation are here.

Parental leave to be reviewed

The Government has acknowledged that the current systems for parental leave and carers’ leave are not working effectively. For this reason, it has committed to conducting a full review of existing entitlements. However, it is likely that any potential changes will take place through alternative mechanisms outside the scope of the Employment Rights Act 2025.

The review is expected to take 18 months, with conclusions and recommendations expected in early 2027. For more information, see here.

Practical steps employers can take now

To prepare for these changes, employers should consider the following:

• Policy reviews: Review and be prepared to update family leave, bereavement, and redundancy policies to reflect the new rights and obligations.
• Manager training: Equip line managers with training on proactively supporting maternity returners and bereaved employees.
• Documentation and process: Ensure decisions are well-documented, evidence-based, and procedurally fair.
• Workforce planning: Anticipate increased leave requests and consider how to manage workloads and resourcing, particularly for new starters.
• Employee relations: Expect greater employee and trade union engagement. A proactive and transparent approach will help maintain trust and reduce disputes.

Employers should stay alert to future developments and consider this an opportunity to modernise workplace practices in line with evolving employee (and trade union) expectations. We will provide updates via this blog so you can stay abreast of any amendments that might affect family rights as the Act continues to work its way through the legislative process.

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, September 2025