October 2026 is the busiest month yet for the Employment Rights Act 2025, and most small businesses have weeks, not months, to get ready.
From 1 October, staff get twice as long to bring a tribunal claim. From 30 October, you have a tougher duty to prevent sexual harassment, new liability when customers or suppliers harass your people, and new trade union access rights.
None of this needs a law degree. It needs up-to-date paperwork, managers who know what to do, and a paper trail that shows you took it seriously. Here's what's changing and what to do about it, in plain English.
1 October: tribunal claims get six months, not three
From 1 October 2026, most employment tribunal claims can be brought up to six months after the event, instead of three. That covers the big ones, like unfair dismissal and discrimination.
The new limit applies where the act (or the last in a series of acts) happens on or after 1 October. For breach of contract claims in Scotland, the date is 9 November 2026.
What it means for you
A grievance you thought had gone quiet could still turn into a claim half a year later. Memories fade, managers leave, emails get deleted. The businesses that come off best are the ones that wrote things down at the time.
What to do
- Check how long you keep HR records, meeting notes and emails, and make sure it's at least long enough to cover the new window.
- Get managers into the habit of writing short, factual notes after difficult conversations.
- Follow your own disciplinary and grievance procedures to the letter, every time.
30 October: "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment
Since October 2024, you've had to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment at work. From 30 October 2026, that becomes "all reasonable steps". One extra word, but a much higher bar.
In practice, a tribunal will ask whether there was anything else sensible you could have done and didn't. A policy sitting in a drawer won't cut it. You'll need to show it's known, used and checked.
The government can now set out specific steps in regulations, but those are expected later. Don't wait for them.
What to do
- Review (or write) your sexual harassment risk assessment, using the EHRC's existing guidance.
- Refresh your anti-harassment policy and make sure every member of staff has actually seen it.
- Give people more than one way to raise a concern, including someone other than their line manager.
- Train managers on spotting, handling and recording complaints.
- Keep a record of what you've done and review it regularly.
30 October: you're liable when customers, clients or suppliers harass your staff
From 30 October 2026, employers can be liable when a worker is harassed by a third party, such as a customer, client, contractor or supplier. It covers sexual harassment and harassment linked to other protected characteristics.
It doesn't need to be a pattern. One incident can be enough if you can't show you'd already taken steps to prevent it. "It's never happened before" is not a defence.
This matters most if your people deal with the public: shops, hospitality, care, childcare, deliveries, site visits, reception desks.
What to do
- Make sure your harassment policy clearly covers third parties, not just colleagues.
- Tell customers and visitors what behaviour you expect, through signage, terms of business or booking confirmations.
- Add a line on harassment to supplier and contractor agreements.
- Give customer-facing staff a simple escalation route: who to tell, and what happens next.
- Back your staff when they report something. How you respond is part of your defence.
30 October: new trade union access rights, even if you've never had a union
From 30 October 2026, unions get a new right to request access to workplaces, in person or digitally, to meet, support, recruit and organise workers. This applies to most employers with 21 or more workers.
Union workplace reps also get stronger rights to paid time off and facilities.
Update: the union statement has moved to January 2027
The duty to give workers a written statement on their right to join a trade union was due on 30 October, but the government has pushed it back to January 2027.
New starters will need it from that date, and existing workers by 5 April 2027. The statement must include a link to, or copy of, the Certification Officer's list of trade unions, and it will make clear that joining is the worker's choice.
What to do now
- Decide who in the business handles an access request if one arrives, so a manager doesn't panic and say the wrong thing.
- Brief managers: a request isn't a threat, and refusing or obstructing it badly could land you in trouble.
- Pencil in January for adding the union statement to your onboarding pack, and plan how you'll get it to existing staff before 5 April 2027.
Your October readiness checklist
If you only do seven things before the end of October, make it these:
- Record retention reviewed so evidence survives the six-month claim window.
- Sexual harassment risk assessment done and dated.
- Anti-harassment policy updated to cover third parties, and shared with all staff.
- Customer, visitor and supplier expectations communicated in writing.
- Managers trained on harassment complaints and on handling a union access request.
- Plan in place for the union statement due from January 2027.
- Clear reporting routes in place, with more than one person to go to.
And October isn't the end of it
Changes to tipping law have slipped to later in 2026. Then January 2027 brings the big one: the qualifying period for unfair dismissal drops to six months, and the duty to tell workers about their right to join a union kicks in.
Put that together with a six-month window to claim, and the way you handle probation, performance and exits matters more than ever.
The good news? Everything you do now for October builds the foundations for 2027. Get your policies, paperwork and manager confidence sorted once, and you're not scrambling every few months.
Useful links
This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Dates were correct at the time of writing; some details are still to be confirmed in regulations.
