Employment Law Changes Coming in October 2026: What Employers Need to Know

October 2026 marks another important stage in the rollout of the Government’s employment law reforms, with a number of changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 coming into force.

For employers, HR teams and hiring managers, understanding these changes is important – not only from a compliance perspective, but also when reviewing workplace policies, managing employees and planning future recruitment.

Here are some of the key changes businesses need to be aware of.

Employment Tribunal Time Limits Double

One of the first changes comes into effect on 1 October 2026.

For most Employment Tribunal claims, employees will have six months rather than three months to bring a claim.

This will apply where the workplace issue giving rise to the claim occurs on or after 1 October 2026. The process of notifying Acas before making a claim remains in place.

For employers, the longer window makes good record keeping even more important. Documentation relating to disciplinary processes, grievances, performance management, dismissals and other employment decisions may become relevant much later than previously expected.

Stronger Protection Against Workplace Sexual Harassment

Further changes are due to take effect from 30 October 2026, including strengthened responsibilities around sexual harassment.

Employers are already required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The new legislation strengthens this requirement so that employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment.

This places greater emphasis on employers being proactive rather than simply responding to incidents when they occur.

Businesses should consider reviewing their policies, risk assessments, reporting procedures and staff training to ensure they are prepared for the strengthened requirements.

Protection From Third-Party Harassment

Another significant change from 30 October 2026 concerns harassment by third parties.

Employers could become liable where an employee experiences harassment from someone outside their organisation unless the employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Third parties could include:

• Customers and clients
• Contractors and subcontractors
• Suppliers
• Service users
• Consultants
• Members of the public

This could be particularly relevant across sectors such as construction, manufacturing, industrial, facilities management and hospitality, where employees regularly interact with people from different organisations and work across multiple locations.

Employers may therefore need to consider risks beyond interactions between their own employees.

Changes to Trade Union Rights

A number of reforms relating to trade unions are also expected to take effect from 30 October 2026.

Employers will have a new duty to provide workers with information about their right to join a trade union.

Independent trade unions will also have strengthened rights to access workplaces and communicate with workers, either physically or digitally, under a new statutory framework.

Additional protections are being introduced for trade union representatives, while workers taking protected industrial action will receive stronger protection against being subjected to a detriment because of that action.

Businesses should make sure managers and HR teams understand the new requirements, particularly where they operate large workforces or regularly engage temporary and contingent workers.

What Should Employers Be Doing Now?

With the changes approaching, September is a good opportunity for employers to review their current processes.

Consider looking at your employment documentation, grievance and disciplinary procedures, harassment policies, staff training, record keeping and processes for dealing with complaints involving customers, contractors or other third parties.

Managers should also understand the changes. Having a policy in place is only part of the picture – businesses need to demonstrate that appropriate procedures are being followed in practice.

Recruitment Compliance Is Becoming Increasingly Important

The October reforms form part of a much wider programme of employment law changes being introduced throughout 2026 and 2027.

For businesses using temporary, contract or permanent recruitment support, this makes working with recruitment partners who understand the changing employment landscape increasingly important.

At Approach Personnel, we work closely with businesses across the UK to provide flexible recruitment solutions while helping our clients navigate an increasingly complex labour market.

Whether you need additional temporary labour, support with a permanent hire or simply want to discuss your workforce requirements, our team is here to help.

Need recruitment support? Get in touch with Approach Personnel to discuss your requirements.

This article is intended as general information and should not be treated as legal advice. Employers should seek appropriate professional advice regarding how legislative changes apply to their individual circumstances.