In this episode of Buzzing About HR, I am doing the debrief that a lot of small business owners needed last week but did not have time to sit down for.

The sixth of April 2026 was the biggest single day in UK employment law in a generation. Five things changed at once. Day-one Statutory Sick Pay. Day-one paternity and parental leave. The Fair Work Agency went live. The redundancy protective award doubled. The National Living Wage rose to £12.71. All of it, on the same day.

This episode is the calm, practical walkthrough of what each change actually means for your business, not the legal version, the real-life version.

I cover what the removal of SSP waiting days means for your absence process. I explain the day-one paternity and parental leave change and the two things to update before your next hire. I break down the Fair Work Agency and what it signals about enforcement. I go through the doubled redundancy protective award and why you need proper advice before starting any redundancy process. And I cover the National Living Wage rise and the checks to run this week.

Then I give you five specific actions to complete before the end of April, in order, with clear reasons why each one matters.

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Resources mentioned in this episode:

Blog: SSP Now Starts on Day One — Should You Change Your Sick Pay?

Blog: Statutory Pay Rates 2026/27 Cheat Sheet

Employment Rights Act Advice

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If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love.

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If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love.

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Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.