From April 2026, Unpaid parental leave changes April 2026 becomes a day one right, meaning small business employers may need to manage parental leave requests much earlier in the employment relationship. Introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025 , this change removes the current one year qualifying period and allows eligible employees to access unpaid parental leave from their first day of employment. While the reform is not a dramatic overhaul, it does affect how emplo

From April 2026, paternity leave becomes a day one right, meaning small business employers may receive paternity leave requests much earlier in the employment relationship than ever before. These changes, introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025 , simplify entitlement for employees but place greater responsibility on employers to be clear, organised and consistent from the very start of employment. While the reform is not dramatic, it does change when conversations hap