The Government published a roadmap for implementing the measures to be brought in under the Employment Rights Bill on the 1st July 2025. The rollout is scheduled to commence in April 2026, starting with the elimination of the lower earnings threshold and the waiting period for statutory sick pay, along with the transition of paternity leave and the right to unpaid parental leave to day-one entitlements, and changes in relation to whistleblowing.
Commenting upon the roadmap, the head of public policy at the CIPD, Ben Willmott, stated: "While we’re pleased to see this gradual phasing, employers only have nine months to prepare for changes to the statutory sick pay regime, including removing the lower earnings limit and ending the three-day waiting period. Businesses are already struggling with rising employment costs following increases to the National Living Wage and employer National Insurance contributions this year, and we'd hoped they’d be given more time to prepare for this significant change."
