Legal update: Your contracts and handbook — what's changing in April
With 6 April fast approaching, we wanted to give you a clear overview of the changes we’re making to your contracts and employee handbook to stay compliant with the first phase of the Employment Rights Act 2025.
The key updates relate to:
Statutory Sick Pay — removing waiting days and updating eligibility rules
Paternity Leave — becoming a day one right from 6 April
Parental Leave — also becoming a day one right from 6 April
Whistleblowing — expanding protected disclosures to include sexual harassment
Bereaved Partners Paternity Leave — a brand new right coming into force in April for bereaved partners
If you use Citation contracts and handbooks, we'll be taking care of these updates for you automatically from 28 March — you'll receive a confirmation email from Atlas once the changes are complete. Our legal update explains the changes we’ll be making and provides a template letter you can use to inform your employees of the changes.
If you manage your own documentation, our legal update sets out what needs to change and includes suggested wording you can adapt.