In the month’s update we report on elements of the Employment Rights Act that are now in force, the Employment Tribunal statistics revealing a historically high number of claims and a case involving an employer’s liability for withdrawing a job offer.

Employment Rights Act - the provisions that are now in force

The second wave of Employment Rights Act reforms came into force on 6 April 2026. We set out below a summary by asking one question to employers for each area.

Annual rate increases

The usual annual increases have taken place

• Maximum compensatory award for Unfair Dismissal: 123,543 (until its removal in January 2027)
• Limit on a week’s pay for statutory purposes (eg redundancy): 751
• Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared Parental, Parental Bereavement and neonatal Care Pay: 194.32
• Statutory Sick Pay: 123.25
• Vento bands for injury to feelings awards in discrimination cases:
  
  • Lower band: 1,300 - 12,600
  • Middle band: 12,600 - 37,700
  • Upper band: 37,700 - 62,900
• National Minimum Wage:
  • Apprentices: 8.00
  • 16 – 17: 8.00
  • 18 – 20: 10.85
  • 21+: 12.71

Employment Tribunal statistics: more claims

The latest quarterly statistics published by the Employment Tribunal Service revealed a significant increase in claims. The figures are for the last quarter of 2025 and show that, in comparison with the same quarter in 2024, there was a 54% increase in single claims and the Tribunal’s open cases increased by 49%. These open cases stood at 58,000, the highest level since the...

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