The next tranche of employment law changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 is due to take effect from October 2026 and will impact all employers in the UK, meaning now is the time to ensure your business is prepared for those changes. 

The changes due to take effect are: 

• From 1 October 2026:
  
  • the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months.
• From 30 October 2026
  
  • the duty to protect employees from sexual harassment in the workplace will be expanded to require employers to take “all reasonable steps” to protect employees from such acts.
  • employers will be liable for harassment of their employees by customers, clients, contractors, suppliers and other third parties.
  • the new duty to provide workers with a written statement notifying them of their right to join a trade union takes effect.
  • qualifying trade unions will have the right to access workspaces.
  • reforms will be introduced to prevent unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition process.
  • the rights for trade union representatives will be extended.
  • the protections in place to protect employees against detriment for taking industrial action will be extended. 

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Longer tribunal time limits, what it means for employers.

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing claims in the Employment Tribunal will significantly increase from three to six months. This change will give employees a greater opportunity to bring claims as they will now have six months from the date of an incident, or a continuing act, that falls on or after 1 October 2026 to bring a claim.  

The nature of this change is such that it is likely to lead to an increase in the number of claims.

To prepare for the change employers should review their document retention policies to ensure potential evidence relating to an employment dispute is not being deleted too soon. Employers should also ensure their managers are properly trained in carrying our robust internal procedures (be they grievance, disciplinary, performance or sickness absence) to ensure the documents created provide a clear contemporaneous record of events that will both support the employer in any proceedings and act as an aide de memoir for witnesses. 

FMGS’ forthcoming Manager’s toolbox training programme, running for 6 weeks from 23 September 2026 is aimed at providing managers with the tools they need to deal with employee issues fairly in order to reduce the risk of such claims arising.

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The requirement to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment 

Employers have been under an obligation to take “reasonable steps” to prevent the sexual harassment of their workers since October 2024. From 30 October 2026 the obligation on employers will increase to a duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent such harassment.

This change is a major one and will place a far greater impetus on employers to assess their workplaces to ensure they are genuinely doing all they can to protect their workers. This means that employers will no longer be able to have basic systems in place and then rely on a reactive, complaint led approach to sexual harassment issues.

Given that a failure to meet this new preventative duty can result in a 25% uplift in any compensation awarded the importance of taking action now to protect your business is clear. Employers should therefore be carrying out fresh risk assessments to assess any risks that exist within their business and take steps to resolve any risks identified. The risk assessment should be regularly reviewed and a log kept of any incidents of sexual harassment that occur in order to spot trends that may require action prior to the next assessment. 

Employers must also ensure that all staff receive regular training on preventing sexual harassment, the standards of behaviour required and how to report incidents of harassment. The training should leave staff with a clear understanding of their employer’s commitment to providing a safe workplace and a confidence that any concerns will be dealt appropriately.

It is equally important to ensure managers are properly trained on how to handle incidents and/or reports of sexual harassment to ensure issues are identified and addressed promptly and appropriately. 

FMGS’ forthcoming Manager’s toolbox training programme, will include training for managers on managing the duty to prevent sexual harassments in the workplace. 

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The obligation to prevent third party harassment

From 30^th October 2026, employers will also become liable for harassment of their employees by third parties which will include customers, clients, service users, contractors, suppliers etc.

This obligation goes beyond just sexual harassment as it covers the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. 

Under the new rules there is also no requirement for harassment to have occurred previously before liability arises and so a harassment claim can arise from a one off remark from a customer or contractor etc. The fact a one off occasion is sufficient to allow a complaint of harassment in this respect underlines the need for employers to take proactive steps to minimise the risk of such harassment occurring. Employers should therefore include consideration of the wider risk(s) of harassment arising in respect of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation as part of the risk assessments being undertaking to prevent sexual harassment arising. 

They should also ensure their anti-harassment policies adequately address third party harassment and that all staff receive training that confirms their employer will not accept harassment by third parties and the process for reporting any such harassment. 

Additional appropriate steps may depend on the nature of the employer’s business but may include:

• The inclusion of  clear behavioural expectations in client, supplier and/or contractor contracts;
• on-site signage in areas accessed by customers or contractors making it clear that you expect your staff to be treated with respect and that any form of harassment will not be accepted.   

FMGS’ forthcoming Manager’s toolbox training programme, will include training for managers on reducing the risk of third party harassment arising in the workplace. 

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Strengthened trade union rights – the written statement

Once the Government releases the required format such written statement should take, employers will need to prepare a compliant statement to be issued alongside their contracts of employment confirming an employee’s right to join a union. This change will require a review of the employer’s onboarding procedures to ensure compliance with the new duty and consideration of any steps required for existing employees.

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Strengthened trade union rights – the new right of access

The new right of access to the workplace deserves particular consideration by employers as it represents a major change in trade union rights.  Currently, trade unions can only access a workplace through their members or if the employer has voluntarily agreed to their access. From 30 October 2026,  unions whether or not recognised by the employer, will be allowed physical entry into almost any workplace as well as a right to communicate directly with its workers. 

Unions will have to submit an “access request” to an employer and an employer  must respond to the request within 15 working days. The union and the employer will then negotiate the terms of an access agreement. If the employer fails to respond, or negotiations are unsuccessful, the union can make an application to the Central Arbitration Committee (“CAC”), to determine the application. The purpose of the access request should be to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers or to facilitate collective bargaining.

Whilst this new right will not allow unions physical access to dwellings or to the disclosure of personal data without consent or that would breach the data protection legislation, there are few other restrictions on this new right of access. However, the CAC will not grant access for workplaces with less than 21 workers and unions will not be permitted  to gain access for the purpose of organising industrial action.

Given the new access rights, all employers should prepare themselves for unions submitting access requests and ensure that any such requests are responded to within the required time frame. Managers and HR should therefore be made aware of the change to ensure they know who to forward such requests to internally and/or the process for responding. It may also be sensible to identify a particular area or room that trade unions could access if present on site and how unions may be permitted to access to workers digitally if appropriate, in order to be prepared for a request being made.

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Strengthened trade union rights – preventing unfair practices during the recognition or derecognition process

If an employer does not voluntarily recognise a trade union for collective bargaining purposes, a union can apply to CAC for statutory union recognition. When doing so the union must show it has support from workers, typically by winning a majority in a statutory recognition ballot. 

Whilst if a union has been statutorily recognised by the CAC for at least 3 years, an employer or a group of workers can apply to have that union de-recognised, which is also typically decided through a statutory de-recognition ballot.

The rules around this process are changing, subject to parliamentary approval, an updated Code of Practice will come into effect on 30 October which gives practical guidance on a union’s access to workers during the recognition and derecognition process, as well as guidance to help people avoid committing ‘unfair practices’ during a recognition application. Unfair practices for these purposes are actions by an employer, union, or worker intended to influence the outcome of a recognition ballot and includes acts such as bribery, coercion, threats, or actively interfering in union management to sway worker decisions.

The new code rules around unfair practices will apply earlier, from the point the CAC accepts a recognition application and there will be more time for someone to raise an allegation of unfair practice after a recognition or derecognition ballot has closed, increasing from 1 working day to 5 working days. Further when considering an allegation of unfair practice the CAC will only need to be satisfied that an unfair practice has occurred, and it will no longer need to consider the effect on the recognition ballot.

Any employer facing a recognition request or considering a derecognition process should therefore ensure they read the updated Code of Practice on Access and Unfair Practice during the Recognition and Derecognition process.

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Strengthened trade union rights – new rights and protections for trade union representatives

From 30 October 2026 employees who act as trade union equality representatives will be entitled to reasonable paid time off during working hours to carry out various union related activities. Employers will also be required to provide such equality representatives with reasonable access to accommodation and other facilities to enable them to carry out their duties and purposes.

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Strengthened trade union rights – industrial action

From 30 October 2026, workers who take part in protected industrial action will gain a new right not to be subjected to a detriment by their employer, where the sole or main purpose of that treatment is to prevent, deter or penalise them for doing so. Detrimental treatment for these purposes could include disciplinary action, financial penalties, or denial of career development opportunities. 

However, the extended protection does not prevent an employer from  proportionately withholding pay in respect of time a worker spends taking industrial action.

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Given the breadth of the upcoming changes employers need to start preparing for them now and FMGS is available to support you with this process. If you should have any queries please contact Suzanne Mainwaring in our employment team at s.mainwaring@fmgs.co.uk.

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