Survey reveals impact of sick pay changes at work
When Acas recently commissioned YouGov to ask which changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025 will have the biggest impact on bosses and workers, the answer was the same from both: new rights on sick pay.
Almost half (43%) of employers said that workers getting sick pay from the first day of illness, rather than the fourth, would have the biggest impact on them while over a third (36%) of workers also listed it as the most significant change. According to 31% of employers and 30% of employees, workers being protected from unfair dismissal after six months in a job, instead of two years, was second on the list.
From 6 April 2026, employees will be eligible for paternity leave from the first day of employment. Currently, employees must have worked for their employer for 26 weeks before they are eligible. The rules on protection from unfair dismissal will change on 1 January 2027.
Acas Chief Executive, Niall Mackenzie, said: “It is clear from our polls that new worker rights on sick pay and protections from being unfairly dismissed from work are at the forefront in the minds of employers and workers.”
