TL;DR: From 6 April 2026, UK employees get day-one rights to Statutory Sick Pay (no more 3-day waiting period, lower earnings limit removed) and paternity/parental leave. The Fair Work Agency launched on 7 April, consolidating enforcement of minimum wage, agency standards, and labour abuse. The flexible working consultation closed on 30 April 2026; the government’s response (15 September 2026) confirms a reasonableness test and a set pre-refusal process from autumn 2027. Separately, the IR35 company-size thresholds have risen, but HMRC says the earliest tax year this can take a client out of the off-payroll rules is 2027/28.

The UK’s biggest shake-up in employment law for a generation arrives in April 2026. From the launch of a new enforcement agency to day-one rights for sick pay and parental leave, these changes affect every remote worker, freelancer, and contractor connected to the UK labour market – whether you’re based in Birmingham or Barcelona.

Remote Work Europe maintains updated guides on the rules covered here, cross-referenced against official government publications.

Here’s what’s changing, what’s still to come, and what it all means for the way you work.

The Employment Rights Act 2025: What Takes Effect in April 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent late last year, but most of its provisions are being phased in across 2026 and 2027. The first wave of changes takes effect on 6 April 2026, and it’s a significant one.

Day-One Rights: Sick Pay and Parental Leave

From 6 April, two key statutory entitlements become “day-one rights” – meaning employees no longer need to have worked for a qualifying period before they can access them.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – Previously, employees had to wait three “waiting days” before SSP kicked in, and those earning below the lower earnings limit weren’t eligible at all. From April 2026, SSP is payable from the first day of absence, and the lower earnings limit no longer applies to SSP. The government estimates this brings up to 1.3 million low-paid employees into eligibility. What they receive is the lower of the flat rate (£123.25 a week in 2026/27) or 80% of their normal weekly earnings, so the lowest earners now qualify but are paid a proportion rather than the full amount.

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave – These also become day-one rights. Employees no longer need a qualifying period of continuous service (previously 26 weeks for paternity leave and one year for unpaid parental leave).

For remote workers, this matters in a practical sense – if you’re employed (even remotely) by a UK company, these rights apply to you from your first day. If you’re a contractor or freelancer, they don’t – which makes the distinction between employment and self-employment matter even more.

The Fair Work Agency: A New Enforcement Body

On 7 April 2026, the UK government launched the Fair Work Agency (FWA) – a single enforcement body that brings together four existing functions:

  • HMRC’s National Minimum Wage enforcement team
  • The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA)
  • The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI)
  • The Director of Labour Market Enforcement

Its creation signals a more joined-up approach to enforcing employment standards. For remote workers, this is relevant if you’re working through agencies – the FWA covers minimum wage and employment agency standards, and umbrella companies are due to come under regulation in December 2027.

For freelancers working with UK clients from abroad, this is worth watching, because agencies sit in many cross-border contracting chains.

Working-From-Home Tax Relief Scrapped

Taking effect the same day, but separate from the Employment Rights Act, is a tax change that hits remote employees directly. From 6 April 2026, employees who are required to work from home can no longer claim income tax relief for their additional household costs – neither the old £6-a-week flat rate nor actual costs with evidence. A new provision (section 360B ITEPA 2003) blocks the employee’s own claim.

The one exception left standing: your employer can still reimburse homeworking costs tax-free (up to £6/week, or actual eligible costs) – that exemption is unchanged. So in practice, if your UK employer doesn’t reimburse you, there is no longer a deduction to claim back yourself. HMRC estimates around 300,000 workers are affected.

We break this down in full in our newsroom coverage.

The Flexible Working Consultation: What the Government Decided

Since April 2024, UK employees have had the right to request flexible working from day one. But the current system still allows employers to refuse requests on broad statutory grounds – and many do.

The UK government’s consultation on improving access to flexible working ran from 5 February to 30 April 2026, and the government published its response on 15 September 2026. It confirmed that, from autumn 2027:

  • Employers will only be able to refuse a request on one of the statutory business grounds and where refusal is reasonable
  • Employers must consult the employee, record the outcome of that discussion, and tell them in writing alongside the final decision
  • There will be no statutory right of appeal, though the Acas Code recommends one

This matters because remote working arrangements are, in most cases, a flexible working request under UK law. From autumn 2027, if your employer refuses your request to work from home – or to work from another country – the refusal will have to be reasonable, not just fall under one of the listed grounds.

IR35 Threshold Changes: Good News for Some Contractors – Later Than Expected

The company-size thresholds behind the off-payroll working rules (IR35) have risen – welcome news for many contractors, though the effect arrives later than first reported.

The Companies Act thresholds that determine whether an end-user company is “small” for IR35 purposes increased for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025:

ThresholdOld limitNew limit (financial years from 6 April 2025)
Turnover£10.2 million£15 million
Balance sheet£5.1 million£7.5 million
Employees5050 (unchanged)

Why does this matter? Under the off-payroll rules, “medium and large” companies are responsible for determining whether a contractor falls inside or outside IR35. If a company is classified as “small,” that responsibility reverts to the contractor’s Personal Service Company (PSC).

With the higher thresholds, the government estimates around 14,000 companies and LLPs will move from medium to small. Because the off-payroll test looks back at earlier financial years and requires two consecutive years, HMRC says the earliest tax year this can take a client out of the rules is 2027/28 – from then, their contractors regain the right to self-assess their IR35 status. We cover the IR35 threshold changes in detail in our dedicated guide. For many freelancers and contractors, this offers greater autonomy and potentially more favourable tax arrangements.

New Umbrella Company Rules

In parallel, new PAYE rules for labour supply chains involving umbrella companies took effect from 6 April 2026. The agency that contracts with the end client – or the end client itself, where there is no agency – becomes jointly and severally liable if an umbrella provider fails to account for PAYE and National Insurance correctly.

This is a significant change for contractors who work through umbrella companies – particularly those engaged by UK firms from overseas. It should help clean up some of the more opaque arrangements in the contracting market, where workers have sometimes been left with unexpected tax bills due to non-compliant umbrella companies.

What’s Coming Later in 2026 and Beyond

April is just the first wave. Here’s what else is on the horizon:

October 2026

  • Employment tribunal time limit – Extended from three to six months from 1 October 2026 (from 9 November 2026 for breach of contract claims in Scotland)
  • Industrial action protections – Extended protection against detriment for workers taking industrial action, from 30 October 2026
  • Sexual harassment prevention – From 30 October 2026, employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment and must not permit third-party harassment, with a power for ministers to set out specific steps later
  • Trade union right of access – A stronger right for unions to access workplaces, from 30 October 2026

2027

  • Unfair dismissal qualifying period drops to 6 months – For dismissals from 1 January 2027, down from two years; this is a major change
  • Removal of the cap on unfair dismissal compensatory awards – Also from 1 January 2027
  • Fire and rehire protections – New restrictions on employers dismissing and rehiring on worse terms, from March 2027
  • Flexible working – The reasonableness test and pre-refusal process, from October 2027
  • Umbrella company regulation – From December 2027
  • Zero-hours contract rights – Guaranteed hours, payment for cancelled shifts, and reasonable notice; the government says timings will be updated after consultation

The Right to Disconnect: No Code, No Date

Labour’s manifesto commitment to a “right to switch off” was absent from the Employment Rights Act itself. The government has published no Code of Practice, consultation or timetable for one, and it does not appear in the government’s implementation timeline (updated October 2026). We cover where the right to disconnect stands in our dedicated guide.

For remote workers, this matters. When your office is your kitchen table, the boundary between work time and personal time can dissolve entirely. A Code of Practice, if one were issued, would not create a legal right to ignore your boss’s messages at 9pm – but it would set expectations and give employees a reference point when pushing back.

What This Means If You Work Remotely From Outside the UK

If you’re an EU citizen working for a UK company remotely from the continent, or a UK national working for a British employer while based in Spain or Portugal, these changes affect you in specific ways:

Employment rights generally apply based on where the employment relationship is governed – which is usually determined by the contract and the jurisdiction where the employee works. If your contract is governed by UK law, many of these rights will apply to you regardless of where you physically sit.

However, cross-border remote work creates permanent establishment risks for employers, and immigration/visa complications for workers. The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, strictly enforced for visa-exempt visitors (including EU nationals) since 25 February 2026, adds another layer – if you need to visit the UK office occasionally and are not British or Irish, you’ll need an ETA even for short trips.

For freelancers and contractors working across the UK-EU border, the IR35 changes are particularly relevant. If your UK client falls below the new “small company” thresholds, you may – from 2027/28 at the earliest – have more control over your IR35 status determination, but you’ll also carry more responsibility for getting it right.

Action Points for Remote Workers and Freelancers

  1. Check your employment status – With the Fair Work Agency now running and IR35 thresholds shifting, now is a good time to review whether your working arrangement is correctly classified
  2. Note the flexible working changes – the reasonableness test and pre-refusal process are due from autumn 2027
  3. Review your SSP and parental leave eligibility – if you’re employed, these day-one rights have applied since 6 April 2026
  4. Contractors: check your clients’ company size – if they’ve dropped below the new IR35 thresholds, your status determination responsibility may shift, from 2027/28 at the earliest
  5. Cross-border workers: review your contract – ensure you understand which jurisdiction’s employment law governs your arrangement
  6. Umbrella company workers: ask questions – the new joint liability rules mean agencies and end-users have a greater stake in your umbrella company’s compliance

If you are weighing up the UK more broadly, start with our UK country guide.