Education Law Digest Spring Term 2026: In Legislation

HR Protect for Schools clients have received a comprehensive list of the changes that the Employment Rights Act, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, will bring. However, we have set out the key changes which will apply in the next six months in this timeline.

National Minimum Wage and statutory payments

1 April 2026 will see the traditional annual increase in National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage and statutory payments. One thing to note is that the National Minimum Wage increase is between 6–8% and is therefore considerably above inflation. With effect from 6 April 2026 the new rates are:

• For 16 – 17-year-olds: up from £7.55 to £8.00 per hour
• For 18 – 20-year-olds: up from £10.00 to £10.85 per hour
• For those aged 21 and above (i.e. the National Living Wage): up from £12.21 to £12.71
• Apprenticeships: £7.55 to £8.00 per hour.

The statutory rate for various statutory payments, including Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Leave Pay, Parental Bereavement Leave and Statutory Neonatal Care Leave Pay will increase from £187.18 to £194.32 per week.

Statutory Sick Pay (“SSP”) will be increased from £118.75 to £123.25 per week. As a result of the changes made by the Employment Rights Act, detailed above, more employees will be eligible to receive SSP.