Employment Law Changes in Great Britain – October 2026

In this month’s article we are confirming the Key Employment Rights Changes for October 2026. Please note, these changes primarily impact employers based in, or with employees / offices in England. These changes will not take effect in Northern Ireland (Employment, trade union and equality law are devolved in Northern Ireland).

In July 2025, the government published a roadmap for the Employment Rights Act, confirming that the measures contained in the Act would take effect in phases.  October 2026 will bring another significant wave of changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 as explored below. The Government’s latest implementation timetable, confirms two key dates for employers to be aware of: 1st October and 30th October 2026.

The Key Changes;

1) Increase in Employment Tribunal Time Limits

Perhaps one of the most significant changes for employers will take effect on 1st October 2026. The time limit for bringing the majority of Employment Tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months. 

With the time limit effectively doubled, this gives employees a much longer period in which to consider whether to pursue a workplace dispute. For employers, that makes good record-keeping even more important. Notes from meetings, investigation documents, emails, performance records and evidence supporting employment decisions may need to be relied upon many months after an issue originally occurred.

2) New Harassment Responsibilities for Employers

1. Prevention of Sexual Harassment
   Another major development, which is arriving on 30th October 2026 concerns workplace harassment. Employers are currently required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. This will increase to a requirement to take “all reasonable steps”.
   
2. Prevent of Third Party Harassment
   Employers will also have responsibilities in relation to harassment by third parties, such as customers and clients. The protection is wider than sexual harassment alone and can apply to harassment relating to other protected characteristics. For many businesses, particularly those in hospitality, retail, healthcare or other customer-facing environments, this is an important change.
   
   Having a harassment policy alone will not necessarily be enough. Employers should be considering the risks employees face, how complaints are reported, what training managers and employees receive and what practical preventative measures can be introduced.

3) Various trade union measures to include;

1. the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union;
2. strengthened trade unions’ right of access; (Independent trade unions will also gain stronger rights to access workplaces and engage with workers, with access capable of taking place physically or digitally)
3. reforms to access and unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition process;
4. new rights and protections for trade union representatives; (including stronger rights around paid time off and reasonable access to facilities to allow them to carry out their duties)
5. extended protections against detriments for taking industrial action.

The above package of Trade Union reforms will come into effect on October 30^th, 2026. 

Employers should start considering how these new requirements could fit alongside onboarding documents, employee communications and existing relationships with recognised or prospective trade unions.

How can employers prepare for these changes;

With several changes arriving within the same month, employers should start preparing now rather than waiting until October.

Employers might consider the below actions;

• Review disciplinary, grievance and employee relations record-keeping processes
• Make sure important employment decisions and conversations are properly documented.
• Review harassment and sexual harassment policies, risk assessments and training.
• Consider risks involving customers, clients, contractors and other third parties.
• Review arrangements for trade union representatives and requests for time off.
• Brief managers on upcoming trade union and industrial action protections.
• Keep contracts, policies and employee communications under review as further guidance is published.

Generally speaking, a focus on good processes, clear documentation and well-trained managers is becoming increasingly important in order to successfully adopt these legislative changes.

If you have any queries regarding these changes, or need support with updating policies, procedures and processes in preparation for implementation of them, please do reach out to us.

*A Note for Northern Ireland Employers

These Employment Rights Act reforms apply primarily to England, Scotland and Wales. Employment, trade union and equality law are devolved in Northern Ireland, meaning the October changes will not generally apply to Northern Ireland-based employees. However, employers with offices or employees elsewhere in Great Britain should be aware that the changes may apply to those parts of their workforce.