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Employment law changes April 2026: What schools need to know
In April 2026, a series of changes to employment law will enhance workers' rights, directly affecting how schools, trusts, and education recruitment partners attract, manage, and retain both permanent and temporary educators. Many schools are already facing recruitment challenges, so understanding these changes is essential to remain compliant and maintain staffing stability.
What’s changing?
From the 6th of April 2026, several reforms will come into place. Below, we look at these and what this means for education and their recruitment partners.
Day one rights for paternity leave & unpaid parental leave
Paternity leave will become a 'day one right', removing the current 26-week employment service requirement for giving notice. Unpaid parental leave will also become a day one right (currently requiring 1 year of service).
Additionally, restrictions on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will be removed, and 52 weeks of unpaid bereaved partner’s leave will be introduced.
What this means for schools and your education recruitment partners:
There is an increased likelihood of absences, increasing demand for Teachers and support staff. Schools need to ensure they have stronger workforce planning and cover strategies.
More people will qualify for Statutory sick pay (SSP) SSP will become more accessible:
- Paid from the first day of sickness (currently day 4).
- Removal of the lower earnings threshold.
- Paid at 80% of average weekly earnings or the flat rate
What this means for schools: More staff will be eligible for sick pay, (particularly those in part-time and lower-paid roles). This could potentially mean an increase in absences. Schools will need to ensure they have plans to cover roles quickly.
Stronger whistleblowing & harassment protections The duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work (which came into force in October 2024) will be strengthened to take ‘all’ reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. In addition, sexual harassment complaints will qualify as protected disclosure under the whistleblowing law.
Further changes regarding third-party harassment will take effect in October 2026.
Impact on education settings: Schools must ensure they review their safeguarding and HR policies, with increased compliance expectations for leadership teams. Greater importance will be placed on working with recruitment partners who prioritise safer recruitment practices.
Gender pay gap and menopause action plans
Employers with 250 or more employees will be encouraged to publish the steps they are taking to reduce the gender pay gap and how they support employees experiencing menopause. This will become mandatory in 2027.
What this means for large schools and trusts? Schools with 250 or more employees and multi-academy trusts should begin preparing now, with an increased focus on staff wellbeing and retention.
Collective redundancy protective award
The maximum 'protective award' for failure to consult in collective redundancy will double from 90 days' pay to 180 days' pay.
Impact on schools and trusts:
Schools could see higher financial risk during restructures; there will be a greater need for careful workforce planning and HR support.
A new body to uphold workers’ rights
A new enforcement body, The Fair Work Agency, will be introduced to uphold workers' rights and support employer compliance.
What this means for schools
The introduction of this new body will mean increased scrutiny of employment practices, and schools should ensure their policies and processes are fully compliant and work with recruitment partners that support this.
How Parker Smith Inclusion can help
For schools and academies, these changes will bring both operational challenges and opportunities to improve staff wellbeing. It will be important to plan and partner with experienced education recruitment specialists who can support you with the evolving changes to employment law. If you would like to discuss how Parker Smith Inclusion can support you with reliable, high-quality, fully compliant and vetted educators, contact the team on 0203 011 4848 or hello@psinclusion.co.uk.
Disclaimer: This article is provided as information and does not constitute legal advice. Always seek professional advice from a qualified professional or an appropriate advisory service for your specific circumstances.
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