By Nicola Smyrl

Partner

29 September 2026

Article Blog

The Government’s employment law reforms continue at pace, with a number of significant changes taking effect in October 2026. These reforms, largely introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025, will have considerable implications for employers across all sectors. 

This article highlights the key changes due to take place in October 2026 that employers need to be aware of and take action to ensure compliance.

Changes to Employment Tribunal Time Limits – 1 October

At the current time, if an individual wishes to bring a claim in the employment tribunal, in the vast majority of cases they must commence the ACAS early conciliation process within 3 months less one day of the act that they wish to complain about, for example, their dismissal or an act of discrimination.  The time limit to commence an employment tribunal claim is then dependant upon when the individual commences early conciliation, with individuals having at least one month after this process has concluded to issue proceedings in the employment tribunal.

From 1 October 2026, this three month time limit will be extended to six months.  This will apply to any claim where the incident complained about happened on or after 1 October 2026.

The impact of this change is significant.  Employment disputes will remain open for longer.  Early conciliation can now continue for up to 12 weeks, and as an employee will always have at least one month to issue their claim once this process has ended, the time period between an incident and a claim being issued could be as much as 10 months.  Given backlogs in the employment tribunal system, it could be even longer before an employer becomes aware of a claim.

Ensuring that a clear paper trail of employment related decisions is kept and that document retention processes are amended to take account of these extended time limits is important.  Given the potential timeframes between an incident and an employment tribunal claim, it is important that clear and contemporaneous documentation is available to justify the employer’s decisions and actions.

Expansion of Right to Work Checks regime – 1 October

At the current time, employers are required to check that their employees have the right to work in the UK and keep evidence of the check.  Provided that the checks are carried out correctly, the check provides a statutory excuse against a civil penalty in the event that the employer is found to be employing someone who does not have the right to work in the UK.

From 1 October 2026, the UK’s right to work checks regime will expand, extending liability for right to work checks beyond the traditional employee relationship. This is referred to as extended liability. The Government has issued draft guidance on the new rules, which is expected to become final shortly.  The current version of the guidance can be viewed here: 11_09_26_DRAFT_Employer_s_guide_to_right_to_work_checks_final.pdf. 

The new guidance provides examples of where the new extended liability rules will apply, and what measures a business will need to adopt.  It also describes arrangements likely to be unaffected by the new rules.  Liability for engaging illegal workers can travel up a supply chain in certain circumstances so it is important for businesses to understand what arrangements are in scope of the new rules, and whether this may impact their own arrangements for workers.

Failure to comply with the new requirements may expose businesses to civil penalties of up to £60,000 for each illegal worker.

Employers should familiarise themselves with the guidance as soon as possible.  Where they have arrangements which are likely to fall within the scope of the new rules, consideration should be given to how they can comply.   Where arrangements come within scope of extended liability, businesses should give consideration to amending contracts to include safeguards against illegal working liability.

Changes to the rules on harassment – 30 October

Two significant changes to the rules on harassment come into force on 30 October 2026.

The first relates to sexual harassment.  The current obligation on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, which came into force in October 2024, will be extended so that the employer is obliged to take all reasonable steps.

This means that employers will be required to have assessed the risk of sexual harassment happening and also have taken proactive steps to prevent it from happening.  Taking some steps identified as reasonable will not be enough, the employer must take all steps which may be reasonable in the circumstances.

In 2024, the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued guidance on the steps that an employer ought to take to prevent sexual harassment, which can be viewed here: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/employer-8-step-guide-preventing-sexual-harassment-work.  Whilst this is likely to be updated to take account of the new stricter requirements, it may be helpful for employers to review this guidance to consider whether the steps that they currently have in place to prevent harassment can be enhanced.

ACAS has also published some examples of scenarios where all reasonable steps have, and have not, been taken as follows:

Non Compliant: Jo started a job 10 months ago. The environment feels intimidating, with a culture of ‘banter’ that makes Jo uncomfortable. Jo is performing well but finds the environment difficult.  One of the co-owners of the organisation begins making frequent comments about Jo’s appearance. When Jo tells their supervisor, the supervisor offers to change Jo’s duties. However, the supervisor tells Jo they will need to ‘toughen up’. Later, the co-owner tries to force Jo into a supply cupboard. Other people step in to stop it. Jo makes a formal complaint about the co-owner.  The organisation’s sexual harassment policy has not been reviewed or used for years. The other owner takes over the organisation completely. They provide harassment training for the area Jo works in.  However, they do not take further action to address the culture of banter across the organisation. After the training, it does not feel like anything has changed. Jo feels they have no choice but to resign and take legal action. It is very unlikely the employer took all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

Compliant: Kim starts a new job and completes their induction. As part of the induction, Kim’s manager: shares the organisation’s sexual harassment policy; ensures Kim signs up for mandatory sexual harassment training; tells Kim the organisation will not tolerate sexual harassment; makes sure Kim knows how to recognise and report sexual harassment; and Kim’s manager also explains that some workers have taken additional training to help handle any complaints.  These people include: senior leaders in the organisation, team leaders, managers, fair treatment contacts, HR staff, trade union representatives.  Kim now knows how to report any concerns. They feel reassured that the organisation is taking sexual harassment seriously.  The employer is likely to be able to show they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

To ensure compliance with the new stricter requirement to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment, employers should review their current risk assessments and harassment policies to ascertain if there are any further steps that they can reasonably take to prevent sexual harassment.

The second change relates to third party harassment.  Currently, there is no stand-alone employer liability for workplace harassment by a third party, such as a customer, client or contractor.

The Act changes this position by introducing employer liability in relation to all protected characteristics if a third party harasses an employee in the course of their employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent this happening.

Although all employers will be affected by the new rules, it will be particularly relevant in some sectors, such as hospitality and care, where there is significant interaction with customers, service users and members of the public.  Industries where there is reliance on contractors and agency staff, such as construction, will also need to consider how they comply.

Again, ACAS has issued some examples of where all reasonable steps have and have not been taken to prevent third party harassment as follows:

Non Compliant: Jan has a chain of convenience stores. They take on 2 new workers to cover the late weekend shifts. The stores experience shoplifting regularly. Both new workers receive threats from customers to stop them reporting these thefts. One of the workers says customers have used racist terms towards them. The workers follow the staff handbook and report the threats and harassment to Jan. However, Jan tells them this is all part of the job. Jan says there are plenty of other people who would be willing to replace them. If they complain, they will be fired. It is very unlikely that Jan has taken all reasonable steps to prevent third party harassment.

Compliant: Sasha has recently opened a nightclub in a busy area. The team tell Sasha they would feel safer with more security training and a ‘call for support’ system. Sasha looks into this and speaks with a trade association body. Sasha develops a policy that sets out steps they’re taking to prevent harassment. These steps include: extra door supervisors; safety equipment, for example, an alarm system; cameras; code words; providing safe areas; and incident tracking and reporting.  This helps reduce the team’s concerns. Although occasional problems still arise, they are quickly reviewed. Sasha is likely to have taken all reasonable steps to prevent third party harassment.

The steps that an employer can take to prevent harassment by third parties will be different than in relation to their own staff, and separate risk assessments and preventative measures will be needed. 

Trade Unions – 30 October

Various new rules relating to trade unions come into force on 30 October 2026. These include:

• Right of access into workplaces. Independent trade unions will have a new legal right to access workplaces and engage with workers, either in-person or virtually.  See our previous update for further details: Trade union reforms: Trade Unions’ Right of Access into Workplaces | Taylor Walton Solicitors.  Employers will have short timeframes in which to respond to access requests and should be planning now how they will respond to a request in order to meet the relevant requirements.

• Further changes to trade union law, including earlier union access to workers during the recognition process, rights for workplace representatives to paid time off and facility access, and protection from detriments for industrial action.

A new requirement on employers to provide workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union was intended to commence on 30 October but has now been delayed to 1 January 2027.  It is understood that the government will supply a mandatory, un-amendable statement that employers must issue, or provide access to, in due course.

If you need assistance with any of the changes highlighted in this article, or any other employment law matter, please contact the TW Employment Law Team.

Disclaimer: General Information Provided Only

Please note that the contents of this article are intended solely for general information purposes and should not be considered as legal advice. We cannot be held responsible for any loss resulting from actions or inactions taken based on this article.