Employment Rights Act 2025 - Clause and Effect
Joanna Rose · Posted on: April 17th 2026 · read
Your annual survival guide to April’s legal plot twists.
April is not just the start of a new tax year; it’s when the rulebook quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, gets updated. From statutory rate increases and compliance tweaks to employment rights updates, this month has a habit of keeping employers and HR teams on their toes. Before diving into what April 2026 has in store, we’re taking a look back at the key April changes from previous years.
6 April 2024
There were significant changes to Flexible Working, Carers Leave, Holiday calculations for variable hours workers, Protection from Redundancy and changes to consultation requirements for TUPE and redundancies. More detailed information regarding these changes can be found in our February 2024, March 2024 newsletter and the Employment Law webinar available from our website.
Flexible Working Changes
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and Secondary legislation (The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023) came into force in April 2024. With two years now passed these changes should be firmly embedded in your policies, procedures and employee handbooks, and reflected in how requests are handled in practice.
The updated framework introduced a revised ACAS Code of Practice and brought several important changes:
- Flexible Working became a day-one right for employees.
- Employees can submit 2 requests in a 12-month (rolling not calendar) period.
- Employers must consult with employees before rejecting a flexible working request.
- Request must be concluded within 2 months including any appeal.
Employees are no longer required to explain how their request would benefit the business. The responsibility now sits with the employer to demonstrate any legitimate grounds for refusal.
More details are available in the January 2024 newsletter.
For assistance, HR Solutions can create a Flexible Working policy, offer guidance on individual requests, and provide relevant template letters for flexible working request meetings.
