Employment Rights Act 2025 – What’s Coming into Force in October 2026?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 received royal assent on 18 December 2025, and we have already seen a raft of changes come into force. These changes included Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave becoming “Day 1” rights, the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit for Statutory Sick Pay, and the doubling of the maximum period of the protective award for collective redundancies.

In addition, the Fair Work Agency (“FWA”) was established on 7 April 2026. It brings together existing state enforcement functions, and has a set of powers to investigate and take action against businesses that do not comply with the law.  The FWA will take on enforcement of employment rights including statutory holiday pay and statutory sick pay from 2027. For more detail on the Fair Work Agency, we are delighted to be welcoming the FWA chair, Matthew Taylor CBE, to speak at our next HR Breakfast Club event. Click here to find out more about the event and sign up. 

For now, our focus turns to the next series of changes coming into force in October – four developments with important implications for employers and workers. 

Key changes coming into force October 2026

1. 1 October - Tribunal time limits extended - the time limit for bringing a claim in the Tribunal rises from 3 months to 6 months.
2. 30 October – Union access to workplaces - unions may apply for physical and digital access to the workplace to recruit members.
3. 30 October - New anti-sexual harassment duties – (1) all reasonable steps to prevent harassment; (2) no harassment by third parties; (3) ministers may specify further steps. 

Extension to Tribunal Time Limits

The extended time limits apply to all causes of action arising on or after 1 October 2026, covering all claim types including discrimination, unfair dismissal, and breach of employment contract (in Scotland, the extension for breach of contract takes effect from 9 November 2026). In light of the longer window, employers should review their documentation and record keeping systems to ensure evidence is preserved accurately over a longer period. The extension may also create greater scope to resolve disputes before claims are submitted. However, final hearings are likely to be listed even further from the events in question, which may affect witness memory and availability. 

Union access to workplaces

Employers can choose to negotiate the terms of an “access agreement” directly with a union. If no agreement is reached, the union may apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (“CAC”) for an order granting access. Where an employer fails to comply, the CAC has powers to order steps to enable workplace access by union officials and to impose financial penalties. 

Anti-Sexual harassment duties 

Of the October changes, the strengthened duties to prevent sexual harassment are likely to have the greatest impact on employers. Coming into force from 30 October 2026, these changes introduce:

1.    A new standard - employers will be compelled to take “all” reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, raising the bar from the existing “reasonable steps” requirement.

2.    An extended scope – employers will have a duty to protect employees against harassment by third parties - including customers, clients, and visitors - on any unlawful basis. This change extends protection beyond co-workers

3.    A future regulatory layer – the changes introduce a power for ministers to make regulations later, specifying evidence-based steps employers must take to prevent sexual harassment.

To prepare for these new duties, businesses should now:

• Update relevant policies to reflect the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment, including by third parties;
• Carry out detailed risk assessments;
• Review and update reporting mechanisms;
• Review contractual arrangements with suppliers, contractors and franchisors; and 
• Ensure management training and appropriate workplace signage are in place.

These changes complement the amendment made on 6 April 2026, which recognised sexual harassment as a distinct category under whistleblowing law. Businesses should therefore ensure their whistleblowing policies expressly reference sexual harassment and that staff are trained on which procedure to follow when a complaint is raised.

Duty to inform of union rights

Note that the new duty on employers to provide workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union is now intended to come into force on 1 January 2027 (rather than on 30 October 2026 as originally planned). 
The government has set out how the duty will work:

•    A standard statement: Employers must use a government-prescribed, neutral statement (yet to be published). They cannot change the wording, other than to add workplace-specific details such as any recognised unions, the staff groups they cover and unions with access agreements.
•    New workers: The statement must be given when employment begins, alongside the written statement of employment particulars. 
•    Existing workers: The statement can be given directly or made available on an intranet or noticeboard, either way by 5 April each year. If it is made available on an intranet or noticeboard, workers must also get a direct annual reminder. The first deadline is 5 April 2027. 
•    Updates: The statement must be reissued within one month of any change to the unions that are recognised or have access agreements. 
•    Enforcement: Workers cannot bring a standalone claim for a failure to provide the statement. However, a tribunal may award two to four weeks' pay as additional compensation where another claim succeeds.

For a full overview of all the changes that have come into force and those still to come, click the following link to visit our employment timeline: Employment Timeline | Charles Russell Speechlys