UK April 2026 Changes — Every Workplace Update

1. Statutory Sick Pay — day-one entitlement

The biggest change for low-paid workers. From 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is payable from day one — the previous three-day waiting period is removed, and the Lower Earnings Limit no longer applies. Anyone who is too ill to work qualifies from the first day.

The weekly rate stays at £118.75/week (not enhanced). Maximum duration unchanged at 28 weeks. What's new is the access, not the amount.

Who this helps most: part-time workers, low-paid workers, anyone who was below the LEL of £125/week before. Around 1.3 million UK workers gain SSP eligibility for the first time.

Recruiter perspective: the cost falls on employers. Most companies I work with have already absorbed this; a small number of below-100-employees businesses are pushing for the SSP rebate to be reinstated. Don't expect that.

2. National Living Wage — £12.21/hour (21+)

The headline number. From 1 April 2026 (a few days before the tax-year change), National Living Wage rose to £12.21/hour for workers aged 21 and over — a 6.7% rise on 2025/26.

• • 21+: £12.21/hour (National Living Wage)
• • 18-20: £10/hour (National Minimum Wage (18-20))
• • Under 18: £7.55/hour (National Minimum Wage (under 18))
• • Apprentice (under 19): £7.55/hour (Apprentice rate)

Knock-on effect: employers below the £21k earnings band (food service, retail, care) are most affected. Hospitality and care sector employers I've placed candidates at have raised salary bands across the board to maintain wage differentials, which means mid-band earners (£25k–£30k) often saw smaller percentage rises than the bottom band.

3. State Pension — £230.25/week

Full new State Pension rises to £230.25/week (£11,975.4/year) under the triple-lock. That's a 4.1% rise for 2026/27.

The fiscal-drag detail nobody mentions: the State Pension is now £11,975/year. The Personal Allowance is £12,570 — frozen until 2028. By 2027/28, full State Pension will likely exceed the Personal Allowance, meaning pensioners with no other income will start paying tax on their pension for the first time. Most pension advisers consider this a deliberate fiscal-drag policy.

4. Statutory Redundancy — weekly cap £700/week

Statutory redundancy weekly pay cap rises to £700/week from 6 April 2026 (was £643 in 2025/26). Maximum statutory amount is now £21,000 (20 years × 1.5 × £700).

The £30,000 tax-free threshold on total ex-gratia / settlement payments is unchanged — and this remains the single biggest negotiation lever in a UK redundancy. Read the full UK redundancy guide if you're going through one.

5. Statutory Maternity Pay — £187.18/week

Weeks 7-39 of SMP rise to £187.18/week (or 90% of average earnings if lower). First 6 weeks remain at 90% of average earnings. Same rate applies to Statutory Paternity, Adoption, and Shared Parental Leave pay.

6. Marriage Allowance — £1,260 transferable

Unchanged at £1,260 transferable (max £252 tax saving). Crucially, you can backdate 4 years — meaning if you've been eligible and not claimed, you can recover up to 4 × £252 = £1,008. One of the easiest UK tax wins for couples where one partner earns under the Personal Allowance.

7. Income tax bands — frozen (rUK)

Bands and Personal Allowance unchanged for 2026/27. Frozen until 2028 in the rest of UK. The 60% effective trap between £100,000 and £125,140 (Personal Allowance taper) remains.

• • Personal Allowance: £12,570
• • Basic rate (20%): £12,571 – £50,270
• • Higher rate (40%): £50,271 – £125,140
• • Additional rate (45%): £125,141 – unlimited

Use the UK take-home pay calculator to see your actual net pay under the 2026/27 bands.

8. Employer NI — still 15% (the biggest 2025/26 change still in effect)

Not a 6 April 2026 change — but the 15% employer NI rate introduced in April 2025 (up from 13.8%) continues to dominate hiring economics. Combined with the lowered secondary threshold (£5,000 — was £9,100), this is roughly a 12-15% increase in the cost of hiring per employee.

What I'm seeing in placement data: mid-market companies are absorbing the NI rise but using it to justify slower wage growth. The rise has effectively eaten 1-2% of typical pay rise budgets across 2025/26. Don't be surprised if your 2026 review offer is smaller than 2024's was.

9. Pension auto-enrolment — review pending

Headline thresholds unchanged. The 2023 auto-enrolment review proposed lowering the trigger age from 22 to 18 and removing the Lower Earnings Limit on qualifying earnings — both expected to phase in across 2026-2028 but no firm date yet. If you're under 22 in a workplace pension, watch for the change.

10. Voluntary NI top-up — back to 6 years

The voluntary National Insurance top-up window (which was extended to 2006-07 between April 2023 and April 2025) reverted to the standard 6 years from April 2025 onwards. Anyone who was eligible to top up gaps from 2006-2017 has missed the window. From 2026/27, you can only top up the most recent 6 years.

11. ISAs — limits unchanged at £20,000

Total ISA allowance stays at £20,000/year. Lifetime ISA at £4,000 (with 25% government bonus = £1,000 free per year for first-time buyers / retirement savers under 40). Junior ISA at £9,000.

12. April 2027 looming — pension IHT

Worth flagging now even though it's a year away: from April 2027, pension pots will become subject to inheritance tax (currently outside the estate). This is a major retirement-planning shift — anyone using a pension primarily as a tax-advantaged inheritance vehicle should re-plan in 2026 with a financial advisor.