April is finally here, and for small businesses across the country, it means a lot of new changes are landing at once.
While it may start with April Fool’s Day, this month is no joke for SMEs. Among the enforcement of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for sole traders and landlords, the rise in the National Minimum Wage and the reevaluation of business rates, small businesses are already facing significant operational pressures.
And on top of all this, the new reforms for the Employment Rights Act 2025 will officially come into force from 6th April. With aims to protect employees from unfair treatment and improve workplace transparency, the changes represent some of the most significant updates to UK employment law in years.
Here are the most important changes that will be enforced from this date.
Statutory sick pay (SSP) will be payable from the first day of an employee’s absence, eliminating the previous three-day waiting period.
Additionally, the requirement to earn above the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) will also be removed, meaning all workers will be eligible for SSP, regardless of earnings. For those earning below the standard SSP rate, payment will either be a flat weekly rate or 80% of their normal weekly earnings (whichever is lower).
For businesses, this comes with a significant risk to budgets, particularly with SMEs losing 29bn annually due to sickness-related productivity losses. 42% of firms also reported that SSP reforms will have a...
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