UK employers face double wave of Employment Rights Act changes in October 2026

UK employers are being urged to prepare for a major wave of Employment Rights Act changes arriving across October 2026, with new rules affecting tribunal claims, right-to-work checks, sexual harassment and trade union rights.

Businesses face two significant implementation dates next month, with changes coming into force on 1 October and 30 October 2026.

Employment law specialists are warning that the changes could create new legal, operational and financial risks for employers that have not reviewed their existing processes.

The changes form part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, with some of the measures extending employers’ responsibilities beyond their direct employees and into areas including subcontractors, third-party harassment and trade union access.

Tribunal claim window to double

From 1 October 2026, the time available for employees to bring most employment tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months.

The change will apply to a range of claims, including discrimination, whistleblowing and Working Time Regulations claims. Breach of contract claims in England and Wales will also move to the six-month limitation period from the same date.

The longer window will apply where the underlying issue occurs on or after 1 October. Claims relating to events before that date will remain subject to the existing three-month time limit.

For employers, the change means potentially having to retain relevant records and evidence for longer and remain prepared for claims well beyond the point at which an employment dispute initially appears to have been resolved.

The equivalent change for breach of contract claims in Scotland is due to follow on 9 November 2026.

Right-to-work checks extend beyond employees

Also coming into force on 1 October is an expansion of employers’ right-to-work responsibilities.

The new rules will extend checks beyond people directly employed on an organisation’s payroll to include individuals engaged under a worker’s contract and individual subcontractors.

The change could have particular implications for businesses that rely heavily on agency workers, contractors, gig-economy labour or complex supply chains.

Employers could also face liability further down a subcontracting chain where illegal working takes place.

Civil penalties can reach £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach and £60,000 per worker for a repeat breach, making right-to-work compliance an important consideration for businesses using outsourced labour.

Gill McAteer, Director of Employment Law at Citation, said employers should look beyond their own payroll when reviewing their compliance arrangements.

“Employers who have only ever checked the right to work of people on their own payroll now need to look at the RTW arrangements in place for every subcontractor and every level of their supply chain.”

She added that businesses should consider auditing whether the appropriate checks are actually being carried out throughout their supply chains.

Higher bar for preventing sexual harassment

A second package of changes will come into force on 30 October 2026, including a higher legal standard for employers seeking to prevent sexual harassment.

The existing duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment will be replaced by a requirement to take “all reasonable steps”.

The change is expected to place greater emphasis on proactive and documented measures to identify and prevent harassment rather than relying solely on policies and procedures being in place.

Employers will also face new obligations concerning third-party harassment.

This means businesses will need to consider harassment experienced by workers from people outside the organisation, including customers, clients, contractors and visitors.

The change could be particularly relevant to customer-facing sectors such as hospitality, retail and healthcare, as well as businesses where external contractors and suppliers regularly work alongside employees.

McAteer said the distinction between “reasonable steps” and “all reasonable steps” could be significant when an employer’s actions are scrutinised.

“All reasonable steps means being able to show you looked at every option that was open to you, not just the ones you happened to already have in place.”

Employers are therefore being encouraged to revisit existing sexual harassment risk assessments, policies and training before the October deadline.

Trade union rights to affect every employer

The 30 October changes will also introduce new trade union obligations, including measures that will apply to employers regardless of whether they currently recognise a trade union.

From that date, every employer must provide workers with a written statement setting out their right to join a trade union.

The statement will need to be provided at the start of employment alongside the worker’s written statement of particulars.

A separate workplace access regime will also allow trade unions to request access to workplaces, either in person or digitally, for purposes including meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting or organising workers.

The regime will apply to employers with 21 or more workers.

Where an employer and trade union cannot agree the terms of access, the Central Arbitration Committee may intervene and determine the arrangements.

As a result, businesses that have never recognised a trade union may still need to establish a process for dealing with potential access requests.

What should employers do now?

With the first changes taking effect on 1 October, businesses have limited time to review their existing arrangements.

Citation is advising employers to consider several areas ahead of the changes:

Audit workers and subcontractors

Businesses should map everyone who provides labour to the organisation, rather than focusing solely on employees. This should include workers, individual subcontractors and relevant supply-chain arrangements.

Employers should establish which individuals fall within the expanded right-to-work regime and review the processes being used by subcontractors.

Review harassment policies

Existing sexual harassment risk assessments should be revisited to determine whether they meet the higher “all reasonable steps” standard.

Policies and training should also be expanded to address harassment involving customers, clients, contractors and visitors, with clear reporting and escalation procedures for managers.

Prepare for longer tribunal time limits

Businesses should review their record-keeping procedures in light of the extended tribunal claim window.

Grievances, disciplinary procedures, dismissals and other employment decisions should have clear contemporaneous records explaining what happened, what action was taken and why.

Update onboarding procedures

Employers should prepare to provide the required written statement on trade union rights alongside other onboarding documentation from 30 October.

Establish a process for union access requests

Businesses with 21 or more workers should consider whether they fall within the new workplace access regime and establish a process for responding to requests from trade unions.

A significant month for UK employment law

With two separate implementation dates falling within the same month, October 2026 represents a significant period of change for UK employers.

The combination of longer tribunal claim periods, expanded right-to-work responsibilities, a higher standard for preventing sexual harassment and new trade union obligations means businesses will need to review both their employment practices and their wider workforce arrangements.

For employers using contractors, subcontractors or customer-facing staff, the changes could extend compliance responsibilities well beyond traditional HR processes.

Businesses that have not yet reviewed their procedures may therefore wish to assess their workforce, supply chains, record-keeping and workplace policies ahead of the October deadlines.