Wednesday 25th March 2026 | The Employment Rights Act is reshaping workplace rights in the UK, with some of the biggest changes focused on leave, sexual harassment and dismissal. Certain sick pay and family-friendly leave are set to become day one rights, including paternity, parental and new bereavement leave, alongside existing neonatal care leave provisions.
At the same time, employers are facing a tougher framework on sexual harassment and whistleblowing, and a new six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal from 1 January 2027, with the cap on compensation due to be lifted.
In this webinar, we broke down the different leave provisions, including new day one rights to bereavement leave and extended protections around pregnancy loss. We explained how the Act builds on the Worker Protection Act and the Equality Act to strengthen sexual harassment duties, and we set out the latest position on unfair dismissal qualifying periods and automatic unfair dismissal risks.
What this webinar covered
- Day one rights for sick pay, paternity leave, unpaid parental leave and bereavement leave, and how they interact with existing entitlements
- New and proposed bereavement and pregnancy loss provisions, including who qualifies and how to structure bereavement policies
- Neonatal care leave and pay, and how it connects with other family-friendly rights and redundancy protections
- Sexual harassment provisions under the Act, including the duty to take all reasonable steps, third-party harassment and protected disclosures
- The new unfair dismissal framework, including the six-month qualifying period, automatic unfair dismissal risks and the removal of the compensation cap
- Strengthened protections for pregnant workers and new mothers, including proposals on dismissal protections and redeployment duties
- Practical steps for employers, including updating contracts, leave and absence policies, grievance and harassment procedures, and manager training plans ahead of implementation