Employment Rights Act: Key Changes From October 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces significant reforms to UK employment law, being implemented in phases throughout 2026 and 2027.

This article summarises the key changes which took effect in October 2026 and considers what these changes mean for employers in practice.

Employment Tribunal Time Limits

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims has increased from three to six months. This applies to claims where the “relevant date”, which will vary depending on the type of claim, falls on or after 1 October 2026.

How Might This Affect You?

• The extension may increase the risk of employment tribunal claims being brought at a later stage, creating greater uncertainty for employers and witnesses.
• Claims may not reach a final hearing until considerably later, potentially affecting witness recollection and availability, particularly where witnesses have since left the organisation.
• Employers should take steps to secure and retain all relevant documentation, including emails, Teams messages and other communications, investigation records, disciplinary outcomes, grievance records and decision-making rationale, is properly documented and retained. It will be particularly important to ensure that these documents are still accessible even after employees leave.

Sexual Harassment

From 30 October 2026, employers are now under a duty to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their ‘employees’ (which includes job applicants, employees, workers, employee shareholders, and a wider category of individuals who are self-employed, provided their contract requires them to perform the work personally). This strengthens the existing preventative duty to take “reasonable steps”.

How Might This Affect You?

• This places a more onerous obligation on employers.
• Employers should not assume that having a sexual harassment policy in place will be sufficient to demonstrate compliance.
• The EHRC guidance suggests that appropriate measures may include:
  • carrying out risk assessments to identify factors that might increase the likelihood of sexual harassment and the steps that can be taken to minimise the risk.
  • providing training.
  • ensuring that reporting mechanisms are clear and accessible, and that records are maintained to help identify trends.
  • regularly monitoring and evaluating whether further steps may be needed to prevent sexual harassment.

Third-Party Harassment

From 30 October 2026, employers are now under a duty to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent third-party harassment of their employees in relation to all relevant protected characteristics (including age, race, disability, gender reassignment, religion or belief, sexual orientation and sex). As above, “employees” includes job applicants, employees, workers, employee shareholders, and a wider category of individuals who are self-employed, provided their contract requires them to perform the work personally.

How Might This Affect You?

• Third parties could include a wide range of individuals, such as customers, clients, contractors, service users and members of the public.
• The extent to which an employer will be considered to have taken “all reasonable steps” will depend on the specific circumstances of the employer, including the size and nature of the employer, the resources available to it and the risk factors which need to be addressed within the particular employer, sector or situation.
• Recent EHRC guidance suggests that appropriate measures may include carrying out risk assessments, providing training, implementing policies and ensuring reporting mechanisms are clear and accessible.
• Employers should consider reviewing existing contracts, policies and communication with third parties to ensure expectations around appropriate behaviour are clear.

Trade Union Right of Access

From 30 October 2026, trade unions can now request physical or digital access to workplaces for various reasons. Subject to certain exceptions, employers will be required to follow the statutory process for dealing with access requests, including complying with the prescribed timeframes for responding to requests and negotiating access arrangements.

How Might This Affect You?

• This represents a significant change, particularly for employers who have not previously had contact with trade unions and may receive an access request for the first time.
• Employers should ensure that appropriate internal procedures are in place to handle requests promptly and in accordance with the strict statutory time limits.
• Relevant HR personnel and senior managers should understand who is responsible for handling requests, maintaining records and negotiating access arrangements.
• Failure to comply with the new obligation could result in significant financial consequences for employers.

We have written a separate article which deals with this element in more detail, which can be found here.

What’s Next?

Employers should take proactive steps to implement these changes and ensure their existing policies and procedures remain compliant. We recommend considering the following:

• Update relevant harassment policies.
• Conduct risk assessments for sexual harassment and third-party harassment.
• Establish reporting mechanisms for sexual harassment and third-party harassment.
• Provide appropriate training to all staff and relevant HR teams/managers on the changes.
• Review third-party arrangements.
• Establish internal processes for handling trade union access requests to ensure compliance with the statutory provisions.

How can Tozers help?

Tozers can assist you in navigating these changes smoothly. Our team of experts are well-versed in employment law and can provide tailored advice to ensure compliance with the new regulations.

How to stay in the know

As changes come in, we are monitoring developments closely and will share relevant insights here. You can view a full overview of the expected changes and an indication of when they will take effect here. If you are subscribed to our newsletter, you will also receive notification via email. To make sure that you are receiving this information straight to your inbox, click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

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