Staying ahead of the upcoming UK Parental Leave changes

The UK currently has the worst paternity leave in Europe. It has long limited fathers’ involvement in early caregiving, reinforced gender inequality at work, and constrained organisations’ ability to grow sustainably. 

Supporting both parents to care, whether in same-sex or different-sex families, is essential to building a more equitable society. It is also essential to build relevant, resilient and profitable organisations.

We’re not there yet. But this week’s announcement from the Prime Minister marks a significant step forward.

Two key changes, stemming from the newly passed Employment Rights Act, will make a material difference to the current generation of parents and to employers.

Key change one: day-one parental leave rights

From April 2026, qualifying service requirements for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will be removed. Both will become day-one rights, aligning them more closely with maternity leave.

Until now, fathers and secondary parents had to work for an employer for 26 weeks to qualify for statutory paternity leave, and one year to access unpaid parental leave. In practice, this meant many parents missed out entirely.

From April, parents will be entitled to these rights from their first day in a new job.

According to the Department for Business and Trade, millions of workers will gain day-one rights after legislation was laid before Parliament on 12 January. Around 32,000 additional fathers will become eligible for paternity leave each year, bringing their rights closer to those of mothers.

Key change two: Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave

A second major reform will also take effect from April 2026.

Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave will introduce up to 52 weeks of leave for fathers and partners who lose their partner before their child’s first birthday.

This addresses a long-standing and deeply painful gap in the system, ensuring parents are not forced back to work while navigating grief, trauma and new caregiving responsibilities.

What this means for employers

The changes to day one leave will inevitably increase requests. This is great news on a societal level, but will pose challenges, especially for small businesses. It means absences, even when you may have recently hired someone, additional resourcing and responsibility on managers to handle requests properly.

Why this matters beyond families

Around 390,000 people are currently out of work due to caring responsibilities but want a job. The new day-one right to unpaid parental leave alone is expected to give 1.5 million parents greater flexibility to share care.

If just 1% of those currently out of work were able to take up part-time employment as a result, the UK economy could see a boost of £150m per year.

For employers, this is not simply a compliance issue. It’s a workforce opportunity.

What organisations should do now?

The introduction of day-one parental leave and expanded paternity rights will require employers to:

• Audit and update policies, contracts and guidance

• Prepare for increased and earlier leave requests

• Train line managers to respond lawfully and consistently

• Ensure parenting is supported – not penalised in practice, not just on paper

How The Unmistakables can help

The Unmistakables has extensive experience supporting national and global organisations to:

• Keep policies aligned with best practice and legal change

• Plan for the operational impact of new rights

• Equip line managers to handle parental leave confidently and fairly

• Deliver effective, values-led roll-outs that strengthen culture rather than strain it

If you’d like to talk about how these changes affect your organisation, and how to stay ahead of evolving workers’ rights, we’d love to chat.