KEY CHANGE EFFECTIVE 1 OCTOBER 2026
Extension of Time Limits for Bringing Employment Tribunal Claims
From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing Employment Tribunal claims increased from three months to six months. Although the time limits for bringing certain claims, including breach of contract claims, part-time worker claims, and fixed-term employee claims were not addressed in the Act, the government has since published separate regulations to increase time limits for bringing these claims as well.
The six-month time limit will only apply where the relevant date (such as the date of the less favourable treatment, detriment, conduct or failure complained of, etc.) falls on or after 1 October.
This reform represents a significant change to the Employment Tribunal claims landscape. Although the longer time limit may offer a greater opportunity and more time to resolve disputes before a claimant must submit a claim, it may also create substantially more uncertainty for employers following a dismissal or workplace dispute.
KEY CHANGES TAKING EFFECT 30 OCTOBER 2026
Enhanced Obligations to Prevent Harassment
Duty to Take ‘All Reasonable Steps’ to Prevent Sexual Harassment
From 30 October, employers will be required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, as opposed to only “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of employees and workers in the course of their employment, as required under current law.
The government will have the power to specify in regulations what will be regarded as the “reasonable steps” an employer should take, or has failed to take, to prevent sexual harassment. The regulations are expected to come into force in 2027 or 2028 following consultation.
Failure to comply with the enhanced preventative duty may have financial consequences. Where an employee succeeds in a sexual harassment claim and an Employment Tribunal concludes that the employer failed to comply with its preventative duty, compensation may be increased by up to 25%.
The new duty will require employers to take proactive steps to identify and address harassment risks before incidents occur and is a more onerous duty than the current “reasonable steps” standard.
Liability for Third-Party Harassment
Also from 30 October, employers will face liability where an employee is harassed by a third party, unless the employer can demonstrate that it took all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment. The new provisions are not limited to sexual harassment; rather they cover all types of harassment related to protected characteristics more generally.
A third party is anyone other than an employer or one of its employees, and may include customers, clients and other individuals with whom employees interact during the course of their work.
Under the previous law (which was repealed in 2013), employers would only be liable if an employee was harassed by a third party on at least two occasions. By contrast, under the Act, an employee will only need to show that third-party harassment took place during the course of their employment, and that their employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment. Accordingly, emphasis in the new provisions is on what an employer has done to prevent third-party harassment, rather than on the frequency of the harassment.
Expansion of Trade Union Rights
In addition to the above, a substantial package of trade union and industrial relations reforms will take effect on 30 October. These measures build on reforms introduced earlier in 2026 and will include the following key reforms:
New Statutory Trade Union Access Regime
Independent trade unions will acquire new statutory rights to access workplaces for the purposes of recruitment, organising and collective bargaining (subject to following a particular statutory process). The regime will extend beyond conventional physical workplace access and is expected to include digital and virtual access.
In light of this right of access, employers and trade unions can negotiate appropriate access arrangements within the new statutory framework. Alternatively, if an employer does not respond to a union’s request or negotiations fail, unions can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) for access. Noncompliance may result in CAC ordering an employer to take steps to enable access to the workplace by union officials and to impose financial penalties.
The government has now also published two sets of regulations that set out detailed requirements for the access requests and responses, as well as matters such as the length of negotiation and response periods and the factors the CAC must consider in its decision-making. A draft statutory code of practice has also been published regarding how the new statutory framework should operate in practice.
The reforms are relevant not only to employers that currently recognise trade unions. Employers with non-unionised workforces may also need to respond to statutory access requests under the new regime and should therefore understand the framework before it takes effect.
Further Changes to Trade Union Recognition
Further reforms will apply to the statutory trade union recognition and derecognition process. In April 2026, the Act lowered hurdles to the process of applying for statutory recognition.
In addition, from 30 October, there will be restrictions on unfair practices during recognition ballots. These will apply as soon as a union’s request for recognition is accepted by the CAC. Employers that become involved in a recognition or derecognition process should ensure that relevant HR personnel and managers understand the restrictions applying to employer conduct and the consequences of engaging in prohibited practices during the process.
Greater Protection for Industrial Action
Workers participating in industrial action will also receive enhanced statutory protection against any detriment (short of dismissal) suffered because a worker has participated in industrial action. The government has published draft regulations which set out additional details on what may constitute a detriment for these purposes.
The new protection supplements enhanced protection against dismissal for participating in industrial action that took effect earlier in 2026, together with earlier reforms to the rules governing industrial action. These included reducing the minimum notice period for industrial action from 14 days to 10 days; simplifying ballot and notice requirements; and extending the period during which industrial action may be taken following a valid ballot from six months to 12 months. Electronic balloting has also been introduced during 2026.
WHAT STEPS CAN EMPLOYERS TAKE TO PREPARE?
Although some of the detail of the October reforms remains subject to secondary legislation, finalised codes of practice and further guidance, employers should consider taking practical steps now to reduce risk and ensure they are well-equipped to manage the legislative changes. These include:
- Prepare for longer Employment Tribunal limitation periods: Employers should consider whether existing dispute-management and record-retention practices remain appropriate given that potential claims may remain live for longer.
- Review anti-harassment policies and procedures: Employers should review anti-harassment policies and procedures and assess whether their current measures are sufficient to meet the enhanced obligation to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, as well as address third-party harassment in accordance with Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance. Policies should contain clear and accessible mechanisms for raising concerns, including around harassment and third-party conduct, and employers should ensure that managers understand how to respond to complaints involving both employees and third parties.
- Conduct or refresh harassment risk assessments: Risk assessments should be tailored to each organisation and employers should consider the particular circumstances in which sexual harassment or other harassment may arise, as well as whether additional preventative measures are appropriate. Employers should ensure they consider third-party harassment as a distinct part of their workplace risk assessment, and particular attention should be given to identifying positions or environments that involve regular interaction with customers, clients or other third parties and whether those circumstances create particular harassment risks.
- Review training and reporting procedures: Employers should ensure that managers and employees receive appropriate harassment refresher training covering the higher “all reasonable steps” standard as well as third-party harassment. In particular, both staff and managers should be made aware of how to report concerns and respond where concerns involve a customer, client or other third party rather than another employee.
- Consider third-party arrangements: Employers whose employees regularly interact with third-party suppliers or service providers should consider whether appropriate anti-harassment standards are reflected in those relationships and whether there are effective mechanisms for addressing inappropriate conduct. Employers may also wish to consider how expectations concerning workplace conduct are communicated to third parties with whom employees regularly interact. Arrangements with third-party suppliers and service providers may similarly warrant review to determine whether appropriate anti-harassment standards are reflected in those relationships.
- Establish a procedure for union access requests: Employers should consider establishing a clear internal procedure for handling access requests, including identifying who within the organisation will receive and respond to requests, ensuring that managers know where any approach from a trade union should be escalated, and ensuring that relevant HR personnel and managers understand the new framework and the role of the CAC. Employers should also ensure that requests are considered within the statutory framework rather than being rejected or dealt with informally without consideration of the new rights.
- Train managers on industrial relations reforms: Managers should understand the enhanced protections relating to industrial action and the implications of the new recognition and workplace access regimes. This may be particularly important for employers that historically have had limited interaction with trade unions. Employers dealing with industrial action should also ensure that decisions affecting participating workers are considered carefully in light of the expanded statutory protections. Managers should understand that action falling short of dismissal may nevertheless amount to prohibited detriment where it is imposed because an individual participated in protected industrial action.
- Monitor further legislation and guidance: Several important operational details remain to be finalised through secondary legislation, codes of practice, and guidance. Employers should therefore continue to monitor developments as the remaining October measures take effect.
The October reforms represent another significant stage in the implementation of the Act, with further substantial employment law changes expected in 2027. Employers should consider the October measures as part of their broader preparations for the continuing implementation of the Act and keep policies, procedures and workforce practices under review as further regulations and guidance are published.
For more information on the Act and the sweeping changes it has introduced to the UK employment landscape, see our LawFlashes on the initial 2024 announcement and further amendments in the spring and summer of 2025.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Our team stands ready to assist employers in preparing for the October 2026 reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025, including reviewing harassment policies, procedures and risk assessments; assessing third-party harassment risks; preparing for changes to Employment Tribunal limitation periods; and advising on the expanded trade union and industrial relations framework.
We can also assist employers in reviewing employment documentation and trade union procedures, preparing managers and HR teams for the new requirements, and assessing the implications of the sector-specific reforms for organisations involved in public sector outsourcing and adult social care.
