Employment Rights Act and People Policy Updates

As part of our ongoing commitment to offering an inclusive working environment and in response to changes in legislation, coming into force on 6 April 2026, our Policy Team have updated the following policies:  

Paternity Leave Policy  

Our Paternity Leave Policy has been updated to reflect statutory changes effective 6 April 2026, including:

• Paternity Leave becomes a “day one right” for all colleagues, removing the previous service requirement for taking up to two weeks of paternity leave. 
• Eligibility for Paternity Pay remains unchanged and still requires 26 weeks’ continuous service.
• The policy now includes the statutory provision for Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave, which enables parents whose partner dies during childbirth or within a year of the birth, a period of up to 52 weeks unpaid leave. 
• Colleagues can now take paternity leave following a period of Shared Parental Leave, which was not previously permitted. 

Parental Leave Policy  

From 6 April 2026, our Parental Leave Policy reflects that Ordinary Parental Leave (unpaid leave for parents of children up to age 18) becomes a day one right, and the previous requirement for one year of continuous service will no longer apply. 

Whistleblowing Policy  

Our Whistleblowing Policy has been updated to reflect that from 6 April 2026, disclosing sexual harassment will be added to the list of matters that may qualify as a protected disclosure for whistleblowing purposes (subject to the requirements of a protected disclosure having been met).   

More Information  

For further guidance and resources on balancing work and caring responsibilities, please visit our page Parents and Carers page.  

Additional information relating to Whistleblowing is available via Public interest disclosure page.