Employment Rights Awareness Week 2026: supporting workers to know their rights.

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13 April 2026

This week, Employment Rights Awareness Week, Citizens Advice across south Warwickshire will be focusing on making sure all low paid workers across our communities are aware of basic employment rights, recent and upcoming changes to employment law which might affect them, and where they can go to get free impartial expert employment rights advice.

Understanding employment rights, and how to exercise them, is vital to surviving and thriving in work. Whether referring to statutory rights or contractual rights it is in every workers’ best interests to know about what they are entitled to as a matter of law.

In the context of current government efforts to bring more ‘disabled’ benefit claimants into the workforce, it is more important than ever for those with mental and/or physical health challenges to know what their employment rights are, and how to enforce them, and what responsibilities employers have to their ‘disabled’ workforce.

It is also important to know where to turn to find out more about these rights and how to exercise them; especially if you are in part-time, low paid, temporary or insecure work.

All employment rights are either statutory (applicable to everyone) or contractual (specific to your employment contract).

They can apply differently to workers in different circumstances so it is important to understand what your ‘employment status’ is and what you are entitled to.

Contractual rights can only build on statutory rights, they cannot undermine them.

For information on all aspects of your status and rights as an employed person go to the Citizens Advice website at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/ and search for what you need.

The passage of the Employment Rights Act 2025 has led to a staged implementation of several agreed changes to workers’ rights. Some new rights came into force last week (from April 6th).

These changes relate to the following issues:

Statutory Sick Pay
Paternity Leave (including Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave) and ordinary Parental Leave
Rules around Tribunal awards for breaches of collective redundancy procedures
Whistle-blowing protections around accusations of sexual harassment, and
Trade Union recognition.

At a broader institutional level, the ‘Fair Work Agency’ officially came into being. This replaced four previous employment law enforcement bodies - the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, the National Minimum Wage enforcement team, and the Office of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement - and combined their powers into one agency.

For more details on each of these, and other changes, go to https://www.business.gov.uk/campaign/employment-changes/employee/ .

More changes will be on their way later in the year, phased in from August onwards - around Trade Union rights, tipping, harassment, Employment Tribunal time limits, Unfair Dismissal and much more.

These are all covered at https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-rights-act-2025 .

‘Modern Slavery’.

The purpose of employment rights is to protect and empower all workers against dangerous or damaging working practices and poor employer behaviour. In extreme cases such behaviour can amount to exploitation, or versions of ‘modern slavery’.

To find out more about what ‘modern slavery’ is, and how to spot and report it, go to https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking .

Advice and Guidance Options.

Finally, for those of us who find ourselves in a difficult situation at work and don’t immediately know where to turn, there is free expert support out there providing information, advice, guidance and/or advocacy services.

The Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) provides a free confidential helpline for anyone who needs employment law or workplace advice, including employers, employees and workers. They can talk through:

any work-related problem or question you have
what the law says and how it relates to you
good practice at work
your options, including any risks and benefits.

You do not have to give any personal details. The helpline number, open Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, is 0300 123 1100. To speak to them in another language, call the helpline above and ask for an interpreter. They can provide one straight away. More information on their service can be found at https://www.acas.org.uk/advice .

The Pay and Work Rights Helpline and Complaints Service provides a channel for you to make complaints about your employer or employment agency directly to the appropriate regulating agency; for example, to HMRC for issues related to the National Minimum / National Living Wage. More information on this service can be found at https://www.gov.uk/pay-and-work-rights .

Membership of a Trades Union should also guarantee access to employment advice and support.

For general advice on what to do if you have a problem at work go to: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/get-help/what-help-can-i-get-with-a-problem-at-work/ .

Reliable, secure, well paid work is a path out of poverty but only if workers are treated with respect in and out of the workplace. Knowing your rights, exercising your rights and protecting your interests will help you survive and thrive in work. Follow us on twitterX at @CAAcrossWarks to keep abreast of key campaign messages.

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