Day-one family-friendly rights: immediate rights for parents and carers

From 6 April 2026, day-one family-friendly rights will reshape how employers support working families. Key changes affect paternity leave, unpaid parental leave and bereaved partner’s paternity leave.

With the Department for Business and Trade estimating that around 390,000 people, including parents, are unemployed due to caring responsibilities but want a job, it’s hoped that immediate access to core leave will remove barriers to starting or staying in work.

Day-one rights apply from an employee’s first day of employment, without the need for a period of continuous leave. It should be noted, however, that entitlement to pay remains separate from entitlement to leave, so employers should still review statutory pay rules in each case.

What’s changing from 6 April 2026?

From 6 April 2026, several changes expand day-one access to family leave:

• Paternity leave becomes a genuine day-one right. The 26-week service requirement for taking the leave is removed, allowing new fathers and partners to take up to two weeks’ off immediately. This change doesn’t affect statutory paternity pay, which still requires 26 weeks’ service and meeting earnings thresholds. Employers may choose to top up pay so that day-one leave is also paid from the first day of leave if they wish. This change brings paternity leave into line with maternity leave, which is already a day-one right
• Paternity leave following shared parental leave: currently, taking shared parental leave before paternity leave means paternity leave is forfeited. The new framework removes that barrier. Employees will be entitled to take paternity leave – and receive paternity pay, if eligible – even after taking a period of shared parental leave. This provides greater flexibility and fairness in how parents plan their time off
• Unpaid parental leave becomes a day-one right. Employees can take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid leave per child, up to the child’s 18th birthday, without needing to meet a continuous service requirement. This supports parents of school-age children who may previously have had to wait to qualify
• Bereaved partner’s paternity leave is also introduced for tragic circumstances where an individual experiences the bereavement of their child’s primary carer during the first year of the child’s life or after adoption. The bereaved partner may take up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave to provide immediate care and stability for the child. This is a day-one entitlement to time off; employers should prepare a compassionate, streamlined process and consider whether paid enhancements or a staged return would help
• General bereavement leave becomes a statutory right, offering at least one week of unpaid leave for the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Because families and relationships differ, policies should clearly define who is covered in inclusive, plain language and managers should be trained to apply the rules empathetically. Employers may also choose to offer paid leave in these circumstances.

From 18 February 2026, any employee who will become eligible for family leave under the day-one rules from 6 April may submit statutory notice of their intention to take that leave, specifying the anticipated start date and duration. Employers should acknowledge and process notices as usual, subject to the applicable evidential and timing requirements. Employees may vary or withdraw their notice in accordance with the statutory scheme and policy. The Employment Rights Act doesn’t allow leave to begin before 6 April 2026.

Policies relating to family leave should be clear and concise, with an accessible request process and appropriate evidential requirements (such as expected week of childbirth, an adoption matching letter or brief relationship confirmation). For certainty, clear information on pay, benefits, holiday accrual and any additional support should be available to all employees throughout their employment.

This article was originally authored by Charlotte Tapp, Paralegal in the Employment and Immigration team.