Ministers have confirmed that day‑one parental and paternity leave will be introduced across Great Britain from 6 April 2026. The Department for Business and Trade has laid Statutory Instrument 2026/15 - the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Parental and Paternity Leave) (Removal of Qualifying Periods etc.) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026 - which was made on 6 January 2026 and laid before Parliament on 12 January 2026. The instrument gives effect to sections 15–17 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 and updates the 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2014 regulations accordingly.
The regulations come into force in two stages. From 18 February 2026, provisions needed to give notices and evidence ahead of April start dates take effect, together with changes that apply in cases where a child’s mother or adopter dies and a set of transitional notice rules. All remaining changes take effect on 6 April 2026. The instrument extends to England, Wales and Scotland. The authoritative text is published on legislation.gov.uk.
Coverage and definitions are aligned with existing employment law. Parental leave refers to leave under regulation 13(1) of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999. Paternity leave refers to leave under sections 80A and 80B of the Employment Rights Act 1996, covering birth and adoption. The regulations also cover adoption from overseas and parental order cases under the 2014 modifications. For timing tests, the ‘expected week of birth’ means the week, beginning with midnight between Saturday and Sunday, in which the child is expected to be born.
Parental leave becomes a day‑one right. Regulation 13(1) of the 1999 Regulations is amended to remove the requirement for a period of continuous employment before eligibility. Consequential edits to Schedule 2 remove default wording that could restrict the timing of leave. From 6 April 2026, any employee who meets the parental responsibility criteria may take statutory parental leave without a service threshold.
Paternity leave for birth and adoption likewise becomes a day‑one right. The Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002 are amended to omit the qualifying‑service provisions and related paragraphs in regulations 4 and 8. For adoptions from overseas, amendments to the 2003 Regulations streamline eligibility and notice, including a clear rule that certain notices must be given no more than 28 days after the adopter receives the official notification.
The instrument also removes residual constraints linked to shared parental leave. Amendments across the 2002 Regulations and associated 2014 instruments implement section 17 of the 2025 Act, ensuring that taking shared parental leave, or receiving statutory shared parental pay, no longer blocks subsequent paternity leave or statutory paternity pay.
Transitional coverage rules are precise. The new paternity‑leave provisions do not apply where a child is born before 6 April 2026, where a child is placed for adoption before that date, or where an overseas‑adopted child enters Great Britain before that date. However, if the expected week of birth begins on or after Sunday 5 April 2026, the new provisions can apply. Separately, where a child’s primary carer dies on or after 6 April 2026, the transitional exclusions do not apply.
Bereavement cases are prioritised early. From 18 February 2026, the amendments relevant to paternity leave in cases where the child’s mother or an adopter dies apply immediately, reflecting the new provisions in sections 80A(6A) and 80B(6C) of the 1996 Act. This ensures access to leave in urgent circumstances without waiting for April commencement.
Notices and evidence are adjusted for the early cohorts. For employees whose entitlement to paternity leave arises only because the qualifying‑service rule has been removed, and whose expected week of birth falls between 5 April and 25 July 2026, the usual paragraph (3) deadline in the 2002 Regulations is disapplied. Employers should rely on the notices and declarations in paragraphs (1) and (2) of regulations 6 and 10 instead. In practice, this relaxes legacy cut‑off points that short‑service employees could not have met.
Employers should now schedule updates. Policies, forms and HR systems should be amended by 18 February to accept notices for leave starting in April, recognise day‑one eligibility for parental and paternity leave from 6 April, and reflect the 28‑day official‑notification rule for overseas adoptions. Payroll teams should ensure that statutory paternity pay can be administered even where shared parental leave or pay has been taken previously. The regulations were signed by the Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State, Kate Dearden, on 6 January 2026; no separate impact assessment accompanies this instrument, with prior assessments available from the Employment Rights Bill documentation.