ERA reforms in depth: Day one family and bereavement leave rights

The paternity leave and parental leave reforms are some of the most imminent changes contained in the Act, with these changes coming into effect on 6 April 2026.

The new right to unpaid bereavement leave is set to come into force in 2027. Consultation on the scope of the new right launched on 23 October 2025, and has now closed and we await the government’s response to that consultation.

Current position

Both the right to statutory paternity leave and the right to statutory parental leave are subject to continuity of service requirements. This means that employees need to have worked continuously for their employer for a minimum period before they are eligible to take the leave. The service requirement for statutory paternity leave is 26 weeks and for parental leave (which is unpaid) is one year.

Other than a right for bereaved parents to take two weeks paid statutory parental bereavement leave after the loss of a child (including stillbirth after at least 24 weeks of pregnancy), there is no statutory right to wider bereavement leave at the current time.  

What is changing?

The Act sets out changes to existing paternity leave, parental leave and bereavement leave provisions. These changes are outlined below:

• Paternity leave – The qualifying period for paternity leave will be removed with effect from 6 April 2026, making this right a ‘day one’ right for employees. In addition, the rule that means paternity leave entitlement is lost once the employee takes shared parental leave will be removed from the same date – this tweak will provide eligible fathers and partners with more flexibility over when they take the different types of leave. These amended paternity leave rules will apply to parents of children born or placed for adoption on or after 6 April, with transitional arrangements covering parents of babies who are due after the new rules come into effect but are born earlier.

• Parental leave – The qualifying period for statutory parental leave (which is unpaid) will be removed with effect from 6 April 2026, making this right a ‘day one’ right for employees.

• Bereavement leave – A new ‘day one’ right to unpaid bereavement leave will be introduced for employees. This new right will be separate to the existing right to paid parental bereavement leave after the loss of a child under the age of 18. Key details about the new right to unpaid bereavement leave will need to be set out in regulations. The details that will need to be set out in these regulations include the length of the leave entitlement (which will be at least one week) and the qualifying requirements. One of the qualifying requirements that the government consulted on is the required relationship that the bereaved employee must have had with the deceased – will the new right be restricted to immediate family members (such as spouses, partners, parents and children) or will it extend further to grandparents and grandchildren and other extended family (such as aunts, uncles and cousins)?
  
  From commitments made by the government when the Act was making its way through Parliament, we do know that the new right to unpaid bereavement leave will be available to any employee who has suffered pregnancy loss within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Currently employees who experience pregnancy loss in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy are not eligible for any statutory bereavement leave.

Given the reforms are now fast approaching, employers need to update your family leave policies and payroll and time & attendance processes to reflect these new and expanded entitlements to paternity and parental leave. You should make sure that you liaise with your payroll provider / team to discuss what procedural changes are required to reflect the updated rights. You may also want to consider training or appropriate communications to managers to ensure that they are aware of the updated rules governing these rights.

If you offer enhanced paternity leave or pay, there are various additional factors that you will need to consider when deciding how to update your paternity leave policy – one point to bear in mind is that the qualifying period for statutory paternity pay is not being removed, so employees will not be entitled to statutory paternity pay until they have obtained 26 weeks’ qualifying service.

It is too early at this stage to make changes to policies and systems to reflect the expanded statutory bereavement leave right, although it may be worth considering your organisation’s policy on compassionate or bereavement leave more broadly. Whilst the introduction of a wider statutory right to bereavement leave is welcome, it is a floor and not a ceiling – many employers provide more generous compassionate or bereavement leave entitlements, seeing it as an important investment in the wellbeing of their people.