Paternity Leave: A Day-One Right
Key Change: 26-Week Qualifying Period Scrapped
The Employment Rights Act 2025 makes a landmark change to family-friendly rights. The previous requirement for employees to have 26 weeks of continuous service to qualify for Paternity Leave is being abolished.
Is Your Business Ready for the Biggest Shift in Employment Law?
What's New?
Paternity Leave will become a day-one right from 6 April 2026. This aligns it with other family-related leave, such as maternity leave, and means that eligible employees can take leave regardless of their length of service.
This change simplifies the rules and expands the number of employees who can take this important time off to support their families.
How to Prepare
Update your Paternity Leave policy: Remove all references to a qualifying service period.
Inform your managers and HR teams: Ensure they are aware that new starters are immediately eligible.
Review your induction materials: Make sure new hires are aware of their day-one right to Paternity Leave.
Family Leave Entitlements
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces key changes to family-related leave. Below, we clarify the updates to Parental Leave and Paternity Leave, and explain the crucial differences between them.
What's New with Parental Leave?
Are you aware of the updated rules for unpaid Parental Leave? The 2025 Act changes how and when employees can take time off to care for their children. Get the details here.
Is Paternity Leave a Day-One Right?
Yes, it is. The requirement for a qualifying service period has been removed. We explain what this means in practice and how to update your contracts and policies accordingly.
Employment Rights Act 2025 Download a summary
After more than a year of debate, the Employment Rights Bill became law on 18 December 2025 as the Employment Rights Act 2025. This is the biggest shake-up of employment law in a generation, with over 28 changes rolling out between December 2025 and into 2027. While this phased approach to the reforms gives employers time to prepare, now is the moment to get ahead. Explore what’s changing and what it means for your organisation, including key updates on sickness absence, paternity leave, parental leave, trade union access, and more.
Prepare for the Employment Rights Act 2025
The Employment Rights Act 2025 ushers in the most significant changes to UK employment law in a generation. Our CIPD HR-inform Pro product service is designed to be your essential guide, providing comprehensive resources, expert advice, and practical tools to ensure your business remains compliant and agile.
WARNING: New Fair Work Agency Powers!
The new Fair Work Agency is set to dramatically change the landscape of employment law enforcement. With unprecedented powers to recover underpayments and initiate tribunal claims on behalf of employees, your business could face significant financial penalties and legal battles if you're not fully compliant.
Are You a Small Business Owner?
You didn't start a business to become an employment lawyer. The Employment Rights Act 2025 adds layers of complexity to hiring and managing staff. CIPD HR-inform Pro acts as your virtual HR department, giving you the contracts, policies, and answers you need, so you can focus on growth
HR Managers are Busy Enough
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is the biggest legislative shift in years. You need more than just news; you need actionable tools. CIPD HR-inform Pro provides the technical breakdowns, the model policies, and the strategic roadmaps to help you guide your leadership team through these changes with confidence.