UK employment law changes constantly, and getting a statutory figure wrong — underpaying the minimum wage, or mishandling sick pay — can lead to tribunal claims, back-pay and penalties. This guide sets out the current position on pay, sick pay and the reforms introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, with a link to the primary government source for every figure so you can verify it yourself.
Last reviewed: 26 August 2026. Statutory figures usually change each April, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 is being brought into force in stages. Always confirm against the linked GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk pages before you rely on a figure.
National Living Wage and Minimum Wage
The minimum an employer must pay depends on the worker's age and whether they are an apprentice. The rates change on 1 April every year. The current hourly rates, which took effect on 1 April 2026, are:
- National Living Wage (21 and over): £12.71
- 18 to 20 years old: £10.85
- Under 18: £8.00
- Apprentice: £8.00
The National Living Wage applies to workers aged 21 and over. Source: GOV.UK — National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates. Because these rise every April, check that figure at the start of each tax year and make sure your payroll records reflect the correct rate for each worker's age band.
Statutory Sick Pay
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is currently £123.25 per week, or 80% of the employee's average weekly earnings if that is lower, paid for up to 28 weeks. Source: GOV.UK — Statutory Sick Pay.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 made two significant changes to SSP that took effect on 6 April 2026:
- No more waiting days. SSP is now payable from the first qualifying day of sickness, rather than from the fourth.
- No Lower Earnings Limit. The minimum-earnings threshold that used to exclude lower-paid staff has been removed, so employees qualify regardless of how much they earn (the lowest earners receive the 80%-of-earnings figure).
Source for these changes: the government's Employment Rights Act 2025 implementation timeline. If your sickness policy still refers to three waiting days or an earnings threshold, it needs updating.
The Employment Rights Act 2025
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is the largest package of employment-law reform in a generation, and it is being commenced in phases. The dates below are taken from the government's implementation timeline.
Already in force
- Day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave (18 February 2026)
- Statutory Sick Pay: waiting days and the Lower Earnings Limit removed (6 April 2026)
- Collective redundancy protective award doubled (6 April 2026)
- The Fair Work Agency, a new enforcement body, established (April 2026)
- Electronic and workplace balloting for trade union ballots (25 August 2026)
Planned (dates may move — confirm on the timeline)
- Employment Tribunal claim time limit rising from three to six months (1 October 2026)
- New duties to prevent sexual harassment and third-party harassment (30 October 2026)
- Unfair dismissal qualifying period reduced from two years to six months, plus protections against "fire and rehire" (January 2027)
- Guaranteed-hours rights for zero-hours workers, day-one flexible working, and bereavement leave (2027)
Note that the widely reported "day-one" unfair dismissal right is, in the commenced version, a reduction of the qualifying period to six months rather than removal altogether — another reason to check the primary source rather than headlines.
Preparing Your Business
- Re-check every worker's pay against the current minimum for their age band each 1 April.
- Update your sickness policy and payroll settings for day-one SSP and the removal of the earnings threshold.
- Review probation and dismissal processes ahead of the shorter unfair-dismissal qualifying period.
- Keep accurate, dated records of contracts, hours, absence and policy acknowledgements — the kind of audit-ready records that protect you if a claim is ever made.
Conclusion
Compliance is not a once-a-year exercise. Rates change every April and the Employment Rights Act 2025 will keep introducing new duties through 2027. The safest habit is to work from the primary source — GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk and ACAS — and to keep your policies and records current as the rules move. HR Henry helps UK employers keep those records straight, but the figures above should always be double-checked against the official pages linked throughout this guide.