Surprise Employment Rights Act 2025 Development

Nobody saw this coming – surprise Employment Rights Act 2025 development 🚨

“Holiday pay record keeping” is coming sooner than expected! 😲

Out of the blue the government has published regulations confirming that several provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 will go live on 6 April 2026.

Most of this was expected. ✅

What wasn’t expected? 🤔

A brand new legal duty for employers to keep detailed holiday entitlement and pay records – also taking effect on 6 April. 📅

This wasn’t on the government’s roadmap last summer, and it didn’t appear in the Department for Business and Trade’s February timeline. ❌

But here we are!

📅 What’s the current position on holiday pay records and what changes on 6 April?

Right now, there’s no specific legal requirement to keep records proving compliance with holiday entitlement and pay.

Most employers track holiday because it’s sensible, not because it’s mandatory.

From 6 April, all employers will need to keep “adequate” records showing compliance with the Working Time Regulations.

This includes:

Ordinary and additional annual leave

Any leave carried forward

How holiday pay has been calculated (what’s in, what’s out)

Any payments in lieu, including for carried‑over leave

This applies to all workers including irregular hours and part year workers and records must be kept for six years.

⚠️ What if employers don’t comply?

Non‑compliance becomes a criminal offence, punishable by fine.

Enforcement is expected to sit with the new Fair Work Agency (FWA) launching on 7 April 2026.

This new body will combine enforcement of minimum wage, SSP, modern slavery and, in time, holiday pay.

However, the government hasn’t yet published the regulations transferring enforcement powers from HMRC, so the FWA can’t act until that happens. Its impact will also depend on resourcing (as always).

🩺 A quick note on SSP…

Surprisingly, the commencement regulations don’t mention the headline SSP changes we were expecting in April i.e. removal of waiting days and the lower earnings limit.

I’d be amazed if those don’t still go live on 6 April. We may simply see separate regulations issued in the coming days.

🧭 What should employers do now?

For many employers, this new record keeping duty will add a significant administrative burden.

Now is the time to:

✔️ Review what you currently record
✔️ Identify any gaps
✔️ Update systems/processes to ensure six‑year compliance

Do reach out to me and the team if you’d like to discuss further.  💬