These reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 will impact every colleague, so here’s a clear overview of what’s changing and what it means for you:
New Day One Rights for Key Types of Leave
From 6 April 2026, colleagues will no longer need to have a minimum length of service to access:
- Paternity leave – now a day one right
- Unpaid Parental leave – also becomes a day one right
Entitlement to Statutory Paternity Pay still requires 26 weeks’ service.
Bereaved Partner’s Leave
A new entitlement allows up to 52 weeks’ unpaid leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) changes
From 6 April 2026:
- SSP is payable from day one – no more waiting days.
- All colleagues qualify, as the Lower Earnings Limit is abolished.
- SSP increases to £123.25 per week.
This means every colleague, regardless of hours or earnings, gets day one sick pay support.
National Minimum and Statutory Pay Increases
From 1 April 2026:
- The National Living Wage (21+) rises to £12.71.
From 6 April 2026:
- Statutory family‑related pay increases to £194.32 per week (SMP, SAP, etc.)
From 1 May 2026:
- Loughborough University is committed to paying the Voluntary Real Living Wage to support colleagues to meet the true cost of living. The Real Living Wage increases to £13.45. In addition, we also pay a Loughborough Real Living wage supplement to address pay compression in the lower grades.
Bereavement Leave Becomes a Day‑One Right
All colleagues will gain a day‑one right to at least one week of unpaid bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Redundancy Consultation
The maximum protective award for failing to collectively consult is doubling to 180 days’ pay: a significant increase that places greater emphasis on proper consultation (up from 90 days previously).
Establishment of the Fair Work Agency
A new enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency, will launch on 7 April 2026. The Fair Work Agency is a new UK employment rights enforcement body launching in early April, and its role will be to strengthen compliance and provide a single, more effective regulator for workplace rights.
Sexual Harassment and Whistleblowing
From April, any disclosure relating to sexual harassment will automatically count as a protected whistleblowing disclosure, giving colleagues stronger safeguards when raising concerns.
Trade Union Changes
Over the last few months, the rules around 'minimum service levels' for strikes have been removed, and dismissal for taking part in industrial action is now 'automatically unfair'. There is also reduced notice for industrial action and a removal of the need for picket supervisors as well. We also no longer charge trade unions for the administration of check off arrangements.
These changes are good news for employees all over the UK – though it is worth noting that in some cases, existing University policies are already more generous. We are sharing these updates in partnership with our recognised trade unions, UCU, UNISON and Unite the Union. Further changes are due to take place through the remainder of 2026 and 2027 and we will provide further updates as changes come in.