Essential October 2026 Employment Law Changes: Is Your Business Ready?

October 2026 brings another important wave of employment law changes for UK employers as further provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 come into force.  For employers, the message is clear: now is the time to make sure your policies, processes and management practices are keeping pace.  From longer Employment Tribunal claim periods to stronger duties around workplace harassment and changes to trade union rights, there are several developments businesses need to understand.  So, what is changing and what should employers be doing?

Employment Tribunal time limits increase – 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months.  The change will generally apply where the act, conduct or failure giving rise to the claim occurs on or after 1 October 2026. For matters occurring before that date, the existing time limits will generally continue to apply.

While this might sound like a procedural change affecting employees rather than employers, it has practical implications for businesses too.  A longer claim period means employers may need to respond to disputes several months after an incident, conversation or employment decision took place. Good record keeping therefore becomes even more important.

Managers should ensure that performance discussions, grievances, disciplinary matters, absence management and other significant employment decisions are appropriately documented. Businesses should also consider how relevant records are retained and whether information can be easily retrieved if it is needed later.

A stronger duty to prevent sexual harassment – 30 October 2026

Employers already have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.  From 30 October 2026, this duty will strengthen significantly, requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

The change places an even greater emphasis on prevention. Simply having an anti-harassment policy sitting in a handbook is unlikely, on its own, to demonstrate that an employer is actively addressing the risks within its workplace.

Employers should consider the practical steps they have taken, including whether:

• policies are current, appropriate and accessible;
• employees understand expected standards of behaviour;
• managers know how to respond when concerns are raised;
• appropriate and meaningful training has been provided;
• workplace risks have been considered and assessed;
• reporting routes are clear and employees feel able to use them; and
• concerns and complaints are acted upon promptly and appropriately.

The steps required will depend on the organisation and the risks within its particular workplace. What is reasonable for one employer may not necessarily be the same for another.

This makes it particularly important for employers to consider their own working environment, workforce and risk factors rather than relying solely on generic policies or one-off training.

New protection from third-party harassment – 30 October 2026

Also from 30 October 2026, employers will have a new obligation not to permit employees to be harassed by third parties.  Third parties could include customers, clients, suppliers, contractors, patients, service users or members of the public. Importantly, the protection is wider than sexual harassment alone and can also apply to harassment related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

This will be particularly relevant for organisations where employees regularly interact with people outside the business.  Employers should consider where employees may be exposed to inappropriate behaviour and what preventative measures could reasonably be introduced.

That might include setting clear behavioural expectations with customers and clients, providing employees with clear reporting routes, training managers on how to respond and making it clear that inappropriate behaviour towards employees will not simply be accepted because it comes from someone outside the organisation.

Again, the key principle is prevention rather than waiting for something to happen before taking action.

Trade union rights are changing too – 30 October 2026

A number of changes affecting trade unions will also take effect from 30 October 2026.  These include strengthened trade union rights of access to workplaces, changes to the recognition and derecognition process, new rights and protections for trade union representatives and extended protection against detriment for workers taking industrial action.

For businesses that already recognise a trade union, these changes may require a review of existing arrangements and management practices.  However, employers without a recognised union should not automatically assume the changes are irrelevant. With wider employment law reforms strengthening trade union rights, businesses should ensure managers understand how to respond appropriately if union-related issues arise.

One important change previously expected in October has now been moved to 1 January 2027.  The new duty requiring employers to provide workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union will now take effect from January rather than October. Employers should therefore keep this on their preparation list for the next phase of changes.

And there is more coming in January 2027

October should not be viewed in isolation.  Further significant changes are scheduled for 1 January 2027, including:

• reducing the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal from two years to six months;
• removing the statutory cap on compensatory awards for ordinary unfair dismissal;
• introducing new protections relating to fire and rehire; and
• introducing the new duty for employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union.

For many employers, the reduction in the unfair dismissal qualifying period will make effective probation management even more important.  If probation reviews are currently inconsistent, undocumented or treated as an administrative tick-box exercise, now is a good opportunity to review the process.  Managers need to understand that probation should be an active management period, with clear expectations, regular feedback and concerns addressed when they arise – not something remembered a few days before the probation end date.

What should employers do now?

With several changes happening within a relatively short period, businesses do not need to panic, but they do need to prepare.  This is a good time to review your HR foundations.

• Are your policies up to date?
• Are managers following them consistently?
• Are workplace concerns properly documented?
• Have you assessed the risk of sexual harassment and third-party harassment within your organisation?
• Do employees know how to raise concerns?
• Do managers understand what they need to do if an employee raises a concern?

And are your probation and performance management processes robust enough for the changes coming in January?  Having policies is important. Making sure they work in practice is even more important.

At Nectar HR, we work with businesses to make employment law practical and manageable. Whether you need support reviewing your policies, strengthening your management processes, training your managers or preparing for upcoming employment law changes, we can help make sure your business is ready.

Don’t wait until a problem arises to find out whether your HR processes are fit for purpose. Get in touch with Nectar HR to discuss how we can support your business through the employment law changes ahead.