Employment Edit: 19 March 2026

Legal Updates

Bereaved partner paternity leave

Regulations have been published which confirm that new entitlements to statutory bereaved partner paternity leave will take effect from 6 April 2026. Eligible employees will be entitled to take a single period of leave, which must begin within eight weeks of the bereavement, and must end no more than 52 weeks after the child is born or placed for adoption.

Under this new ‘day one’ right, eligible employees will be entitled to take statutory bereaved partner paternity leave where the child’s primary carer dies during the 52 weeks after the child is born or placed for adoption. To be eligible, the employee will need to have the main responsibility for the upbringing of the child and to meet one or more of a list of relationship conditions outlined in the regulations. Those with qualifying relationships include the child’s father, the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s mother and the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s adopter.

There is no new statutory entitlement to pay for bereaved partner paternity leave, but the employee’s entitlement to statutory paternity pay, if eligible, is unaffected. Employers can of course choose to put in place enhanced pay arrangements, and what enhanced pay arrangements to put in place is something that you may wish to consider when you look to update your paternity and other family-leave policies in light of this reform.  

Bereaved partner paternity leave is separate to the expansion of paternity leave provided for in the Employment Rights Act 2025. To read more about paternity leave becoming a ‘day one’ right under the ERA 2025 and how your organisation can prepare for this change, don’t forget to review our ERA hub page below.

April changes

Several other key ERA reforms are set to come into force in April, including a significant expansion of statutory sick pay and the simplification of the statutory recognition process for trade unions. For more information on the changes that are about to come into force, take a look at the implementation timeline on our ERA hub or watch this short video.

Minimum wage rates

Earlier this week, the government published its latest remit for the Low Pay Commission (LPC) setting out the factors that it would like the LPC to consider when providing its recommendations on the rates of National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage that should apply from April 2027. Those factors include the cost of living (including inflation forecasts) and the impact on businesses and competitiveness.

In the remit, the government also reiterated its commitment to remove what it describes as the “discriminatory” age bands for adults and to align the National Minimum Wage (currently payable to workers aged 18 to 20) with the National Living Wage (payable to those aged 21 and over). However, it notes that the LPC has full flexibility to determine the pace and ultimate timing of that alignment, with “priority being given to the employment prospects of younger workers”. The LPC is expected to publish its recommended minimum wage rates by the end of October this year.

Youth job grants

In a separate move designed to tackle the much-reported rise in youth unemployment, the government has announced new Youth Jobs Grants. Under the grants, employers will receive £3,000 for each eligible young person that they hire. The recruit must be aged between 18 and 24, have been on universal credit and been looking for work for at least six months. The government expects that around 60,000 young people will be supported by these grants across the next three years.

In addition, the government plans to expand its Jobs Guarantee scheme. The scheme, which is due to launch this spring, is currently set to offer subsidised six-month paid jobs to every eligible 18 to 21 year old who has been on universal credit and looking for work for 18 months. Under the plans announced this week, the scheme is expected to be expanded from this autumn to cover eligible 22 to 24 year olds as well.