A Jamie HR manager's guide
The manager's guide to family leave in 2026
A practical guide for managers and small businesses on the family leave changes that took effect on 6 April 2026: day-one rights to paternity and unpaid parental leave, the new Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave, and what has not changed for maternity leave and pay.
Day-one paternity leave
Day-one parental leave
New bereavement right
On 6 April 2026, two long-standing service requirements for family leave were removed.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 made paternity leave and unpaid parental leave day-one rights, and a new Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave came into force on the same date. This guide sets out exactly what changed, what stayed the same, including maternity leave and pay, and the practical steps to take to keep your policies, payroll and HR systems ready.
What's inside
What changed on 6 April 20263
Paternity leave becomes a day-one right4
Unpaid parental leave becomes a day-one right5
A new right: Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave6
What did not change: maternity leave and pay7
Notice periods: what to expect8
Getting ready: policies, payroll and systems9
Getting family leave right in 202610
How Jamie HR helps11
What changed on 6 April 2026
The Employment Rights Act 2025 removed the qualifying service requirement for two existing family leave rights, and introduced one new right.
- Paternity leave became a day-one right, with no minimum length of service needed before an employee can take it.
- Unpaid parental leave became a day-one right, removing the previous requirement for one year's service.
- Statutory Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave came into force for deaths of a partner occurring on or after 6 April 2026.
- Maternity leave and Statutory Maternity Pay were not changed by these reforms.
- The day-one right applies where the child's birth or placement for adoption falls on or after 6 April 2026.
Watch out
Day one applies to the right to take paternity leave, not automatically to Statutory Paternity Pay, which still needs 26 weeks' service. Do not assume pay follows just because leave is now available.
Paternity leave becomes a day-one right
An employee no longer needs a minimum length of service to take paternity leave around a birth or adoption.
- Before 6 April 2026, an employee needed 26 weeks' continuous service by the qualifying week to take paternity leave. That service requirement for taking the leave has been removed.
- The length of paternity leave has not changed: up to two weeks, taken together or as two separate one-week blocks, ending within 52 weeks of the birth or placement.
- Statutory Paternity Pay still requires 26 weeks' continuous service by the qualifying week, alongside meeting the minimum earnings condition; that has not changed.
- The current rate of Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if lower.
- An employee can now take paternity leave after a period of Shared Parental Leave, a combination that was previously restricted.
Manager tip
An employee can be eligible for paternity leave without being eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay. Check the pay eligibility separately before running payroll.
Unpaid parental leave becomes a day-one right
The one year's service requirement for unpaid parental leave has gone, but the structure of the leave itself is unchanged.
- Before 6 April 2026, an employee needed one year's continuous service to take unpaid parental leave. That requirement has been removed.
- Each parent is entitled to 18 weeks' unpaid parental leave for each child, up to the child's 18th birthday.
- No more than 4 weeks of parental leave can be taken for a particular child in a year, unless you agree to allow more.
- Leave must be taken in whole weeks, unless the child is disabled or you agree otherwise.
- The entitlement remains unpaid, and the 21 days' notice requirement is unchanged.
A new right: Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave
From 6 April 2026, an employee whose partner dies can take extended leave to care for their child.
- Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave applies where the mother, main adopter or main intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement dies on or after 6 April 2026.
- An employee can take a single continuous block of leave of up to 52 weeks, starting the day after the death and ending within 52 weeks of the child's birth, placement or arrival in the UK.
- Where the death occurs less than 14 days before that 52-week point, leave is instead capped at 2 weeks, ending within 14 days of the death.
- The leave is unpaid; there is no statutory pay attached, though you can choose to pay it under a contractual scheme.
- Notice can be given verbally or in writing within 8 weeks of the death; after 8 weeks, written notice with at least a week's warning is required.
Manager tip
This is a separate right from the existing Parental Bereavement Leave, which covers the death of a child. Check which applies before you respond to a request.
What did not change: maternity leave and pay
None of the April 2026 reforms altered maternity leave or Statutory Maternity Pay.
- Statutory Maternity Leave remains 52 weeks: 26 weeks' Ordinary Maternity Leave followed by 26 weeks' Additional Maternity Leave.
- Maternity leave has always been a day-one right, available regardless of length of service, and that has not changed.
- Statutory Maternity Pay still requires at least 26 weeks' continuous service into the qualifying week, alongside the minimum earnings condition.
- Where SMP is payable, it remains 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then the lower of £194.32 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings for up to 33 further weeks.
Notice periods: what to expect
Notice requirements were largely left in place, with one temporary easement for employees newly eligible for paternity leave.
- The standard notice period for paternity leave remains 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, or as soon as reasonably practicable for adoption.
- A temporary, shorter 28-day notice period applied for employees who became newly eligible for paternity leave purely because of the day-one right, where leave was to be taken between 5 April and 25 July 2026.
- The 21 days' notice period for unpaid parental leave is unchanged, and there is no transitional easement for it.
- For Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave, notice within 8 weeks of the death can be given informally; after that, written notice of at least a week is required.
Watch out
The transitional 28-day paternity leave notice window closes on 25 July 2026. After that date, the standard 15-week notice period applies in full to newly eligible employees too.
Getting ready: policies, payroll and systems
Three areas need checking to reflect day-one eligibility correctly.
- Update your paternity and parental leave policies to remove any reference to a minimum length of service for taking the leave.
- Keep the separate 26-week service and earnings conditions for Statutory Paternity Pay clearly documented, so leave and pay eligibility are not confused.
- Check your payroll and HR system settings so a new starter's paternity or parental leave request is not automatically blocked or flagged as ineligible.
- Add Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave as a distinct leave type in your HR system, separate from existing bereavement or compassionate leave categories.
- Review your staff handbook, offer letters and any written statement templates that still describe the old service requirements.
Getting family leave right in 2026
A summary of the essentials covered in this guide:
- Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are day-one rights from 6 April 2026; no minimum service is needed to take either.
- The length of paternity leave (up to 2 weeks) and the structure of parental leave (18 weeks per child, up to 4 a year) have not changed.
- Statutory Paternity Pay still needs 26 weeks' service and minimum earnings; check pay eligibility separately from leave eligibility.
- Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave is a new, unpaid right of up to 52 weeks for deaths on or after 6 April 2026.
- Maternity leave (52 weeks) and Statutory Maternity Pay are unchanged.
- Update policies, payroll and HR systems so day-one requests are handled correctly, and note the 28-day transitional paternity notice window closes on 25 July 2026.
How Jamie HR helps
Jamie HR keeps family leave requests, eligibility checks and pay rules in one place, so day-one rights are applied correctly from the first request.
- Leave requests and approvals tracked from a new starter's first day, with no manual eligibility guesswork.
- Payroll-ready records that keep leave eligibility and Statutory Pay eligibility checks separate.
- Policy library so your paternity, parental and bereavement leave policies stay current as the law changes.
- HR system leave types for Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave, kept distinct from other bereavement leave.
jamiehr.com
This guide is general information, accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 2026, and is not legal advice. Employment law changes and every situation is different, so for a specific case take professional HR or legal advice. Sources: gov.uk, ACAS, legislation.gov.uk and the Employment Rights Act 2025.