April 2026 Rate Changes: Roundup

Further to our previous article on the new Vento bands, we now provide a full roundup of all the April 2026 rate changes.

April 2026 Rate Changes

The recent announcement in relation to the new Vento bands means that all of the April 2026 rate changes have now been published.

National Minimum Wage & National Living Wage

The new rates in relation to the National Minimum Wage and the National Living Wage took effect on the 1st April 2026 (the first of the April 2026 rate changes).

The new rates for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage that will apply from the 1st April 2026 are as follows:

• For workers aged 21 and over (i.e. the National Living Wage): The rate will increase by £0.50 per hour (4.1%), rising from £12.21 per hour to £12.71 per hour
• For workers aged 18–20 inclusive: The rate will increase by £0.85 per hour (8.5%), rising from £10.00 per hour to £10.85 per hour
• For workers aged 16–17 inclusive: The rate will increase by £0.45 per hour (6.0%), rising from £7.55 per hour to £8.00 per hour
• The apprentice rate: The rate will increase by £0.45 per hour (6.0%), rising from £7.55 per hour to £8.00 per hour
• Accommodation offset: The daily rate will increase by £0.44 (4.1%), rising from £10.66 to £11.10

Separate to the Government’s statutory rates, the Living Wage Foundation announced the new Real Living Wage and London Living Wage rates back on the 22nd October 2025. The Real Living Wage has increased by £0.85 per hour, rising from £12.60 to £13.45 per hour (an increase of 6.7%). The London Living Wage has increased by £0.95 per hour, rising from £13.85 to £14.80 per hour (an increase of 6.9%). Accredited employers are expected to implement these increases by 1 May 2026

Family Friendly Payments

The increased rates for Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay, will take effect on the 6th April 2026, and are as follows:-

• Statutory maternity pay – those who qualify are entitled to receive it for 39 weeks at a rate of 90% of their gross weekly pay, subject to a maximum of £194.32 per week (up from £187.18 per week) after the first 6 weeks.
• Statutory Paternity Pay – the smaller of £194.32 per week (up from £187.18 per week) or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings
• Statutory Shared Parental Pay – the smaller of £194.32 per week (up from £187.18 per week) or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings
• Statutory Adoption Pay – those who qualify are entitled to receive it for 39 weeks at a rate of 90% of their gross weekly pay, subject to a maximum of £194.32 per week (up from £187.18 per week) after the first 6 weeks.
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay – the smaller of £194.32 per week (up from £187.18 per week) or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings
• Statutory Neonatal Care Pay – the smaller of £194.32 per week (up from £187.18 per week) or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings

The average gross weekly earnings required to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay and the other family friendly payments will increase from £125.00 or more per week, to £129.00 or more per week

Maternity Allowance will also increase from the 6th April 2026. Where an employee earns less than £129.00 per week on average, but was employed for 26 of the 66 previous weeks earning at least £30 per week (averaged over any 13 week period during the said 66 weeks), then they will be entitled to Maternity Allowance for 39 weeks of the smaller of £194.32 or 90 per cent of their average gross weekly earnings.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

The rate for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) increases from £118.75 to £123.25 per week from the 6th April 2026.

In addition, major changes to SSP come into force at the same time, and are as follows:-

• SSP will be available to all eligible employees regardless of their earnings, following the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL).
• SSP will become payable from the first full day of sickness absence rather than the fourth.
• SSP will be paid at 80% of an employee’s average weekly earnings or the uprated weekly flat rate of £123.25, whichever is lower.

Statutory Cap

The new rate for the statutory cap on a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating the basic award and statutory redundancy pay will come into effect on the 6th April 2026, and is as follows:-

• The statutory cap on a week’s pay will increase from £719.00 to £751.00.
• The maximum in terms of the basic award and statutory redundancy pay is now £22,530.00 (i.e. 20 x £751.00 x 1.5).
• The maximum amount that can be awarded for the unfair dismissal compensatory award will increase from £118,223.00 to £123,543.00.

Vento Bands

Following the latest annual re-evaluation, the increases in the Vento bands will take effect from the 6th April 2026, and are as follows:-

• Exceptional cases: the new rate for the top band of the Vento bands is £62,900.00 plus. For cases presented before the 6th April 2026, the band is £60,700.00 plus.
• Upper band: the band increases to £37,700.00 to £62,900.00 for serious cases. For cases presented before the 6th April 2026, the band is £36,400.00 to £60,700.00.
• Middle band: the band will increase to £12,600.00 to £37,700.00. For cases presented before the 6th April 2026, the band is £12,100.00 to £36,400.00.
• Lower band: it will increase to £1,300.00 to £12,600.00 for less serious and one-off cases. For cases presented before the 6th April 2026, the band is £1,200.00 to £12,100.00.

Employment Rights Act 2025: April 2026 Changes

Alongside the April 2026 rate changes, April 2026 also marks the next phase of wider employment law reform under the Employment Rights Act 2025. While the rate increases have an immediate impact on payroll, these legislative changes introduce new rights and obligations for employers. The key provisions taking effect from April 2026 are outlined below:-

Collective Redundancy Protective Award	From April 2026, the maximum collective redundancy protective award increases from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay where an employer fails to comply with its collective consultation obligations.
Day-One Paternity and Parental Leave	From 6 April 2026, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave apply from the first day of employment. Newly eligible employees have also been able to give notice for this leave since 18 February 2026.
Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave	From 6 April 2026, a new day-one right allows a father or partner to take up to 52 weeks of leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life or placement. This removes the previous 26-week continuous service requirement in these circumstances.
Removal of Paternity Leave Restrictions	From 6 April 2026, employees can take paternity leave even if they have already taken a period of shared parental leave. Previously, taking shared parental leave first prevented any later entitlement to paternity leave.
Whistleblowing – Sexual Harassment	From 6 April 2026, sexual harassment is added to the list of matters capable of constituting a protected disclosure, strengthening protection for workers who raise concerns.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)	From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay becomes a day-one entitlement, with the three-day waiting period removed and the Lower Earnings Limit abolished. The flat SSP rate increases to £123.25 per week, and SSP is payable at the lower of 80% of an employee’s average weekly earnings or the flat rate of £123.25.
Enhanced Holiday Pay Record-Keeping	From 6 April 2026, employers must keep records for 6 years showing how statutory holiday pay has been calculated, particularly for workers with variable pay such as overtime or commission. This is intended to support future Fair Work Agency enforcement of holiday pay obligations.
Fair Work Agency	The Fair Work Agency is formally established on 7 April 2026. It consolidates key labour market enforcement functions, including enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, Agency Worker Regulations, gangmasters licensing, and certain Modern Slavery compliance functions. Holiday pay and Statutory Sick Pay enforcement are expected to be brought into its remit in phases.
Trade Union Recognition	From 6 April 2026, the trade union recognition process is streamlined. Where recognition is decided by ballot, the previous 40% support threshold is removed and replaced by a simple majority of votes cast. The Government also has power to reduce the current 10% membership threshold for a CAC application to as low as 2% through future regulations.
Gender Pay Gap and Menopause Action Plans	From April 2026, employers with 250 or more employees may voluntarily publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap data, ahead of mandatory publication from 2027, subject to secondary legislation. Official guidance published in early March 2026 sets out evidence-based actions employers can include to reduce the gender pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause.

Further changes come into force under the Employment Rights Act 2025 later in 2026 and into 2027. From October 2026, for instance, employment tribunal time limits increase from three to six months for most claims. Further significant reforms follow in 2027, including changes to unfair dismissal (with the qualifying period reduced to six months and removal of the compensatory award cap), tighter restrictions on “fire and rehire” (making dismissal and re-engagement automatically unfair in most cases, except where the employer is facing financial difficulty threatening business viability and a fair process has been followed), and new rights for zero-hours and low-hours workers (including the right to a contract reflecting hours regularly worked over a 12-week reference period, reasonable notice of shifts, and compensation for short-notice cancellations or changes).