October 2026 UK employment law changes: what SMEs need to do now

By now, the April 2026 employment law changes should be settling into your day-to-day HR processes - from day-one statutory sick pay and family leave to holiday record-keeping. But the Employment Rights Act timetable doesn't end there.

October brings another set of legislative changes for employers in Great Britain, covering harassment prevention, trade union rights and an extended time limit for employment tribunal claims. With the Fair Work Agency now operational since April 2026, putting these changes into practice and retaining clear evidence of compliance is more important than ever.

But for small businesses, we know that keeping up with another wave of changes might feel overwhelming, so we're here to break it down.

In this blog, we outline the key changes, when they come into force and the practical steps you can take to stay compliant.

Skip to:

• Employment tribunal time limits increase

• Harassment protections

• Trade union law changes

• Other changes

• Your October 2026 employment law changes checklist

• How to put these changes into practice (and prove it) 

• FAQs

1. Employment tribunal time limits increase

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months. Claimants must still notify Acas as normal and Acas early conciliation will continue to apply.

What you need to do

For employers, this longer claim period means that disputes you think are resolved could resurface further down the line, making diligent, consistent, record-keeping even more important.

Here's some actions to take to help stay compliant:

• Update your HR policies, calendars and escalation processes so potential claims are not overlooked.

• Keep clear factual records of meetings, decisions, performance concerns, grievances, disciplinary action, reasonable adjustments and contract changes.

• Preserve relevant records promptly when a grievance, complaint or threatened claim arises.

For more detail on this change and additional guidance, read the Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) Regulations 2026 and the latest Acas guidance on tribunal time limits.

2. Harassment protections - a higher prevention duty 

This is one of the most significant changes for employers to prepare for.

Back in October 2024, the government introduced a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of workers under the Worker Protection Act 2023 (amendment of Equality Act 2010).

But as of 30 October 2026, the standard rises. Employers will need to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, including sexual harassment by third parties such as customers, clients, suppliers and members of the public.

From the same date, the Employment Rights Act 2025 also introduces employer liability where a third party harasses a worker and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. This third party protection covers all types of harassment.

What you need to do

What counts as "reasonable" will, of course, depend on factors such as the size and resources of the business, the sector, the working environment and the risks identified. But the important takeaway here is that a policy sitting in a folder won't, by itself, be enough to demonstrate that your business has taken effective preventative action.

And while we're still waiting on detailed guidance from the UK government, below are some practical starting points.

• Review your harassment and sexual-harassment policies. Make sure they cover worker-on-worker and third-party harassment, explain how concerns can be raised and set out how complaints will be handled. Find our free policy template here, produced in partnership with employment law experts at Omny Group.
  
  

• Carry out or refresh your harassment risk assessment. Consider where your people may be exposed to customers, clients, contractors, suppliers, agency workers, service users or members of the public. Turn the findings into an action plan with named owners and review dates. Our free harassment risk assessment template can help you get started.
  
  

• Put practical controls in place for higher-risk situations. These might include manager protocols, clear standards for customers and visitors, safer lone-working arrangements, customer-facing terms or signage, and clear guidance on when someone can step away, refuse service or escalate an issue.

• Provide more than one safe reporting route, including an alternative to the line manager where appropriate. Consider whether anonymous reporting should be available, and encourage people to report near misses or situations where they felt at risk even if nothing happened.

• Deliver practical training for the whole workforce, with realistic examples, active-bystander guidance, refreshers and induction for new starters. Train managers separately on recognising concerns, responding appropriately and escalating issues, and keep evidence of who attended and when.

• Handle complaints promptly and fairly. Listen carefully, keep secure records, consider proportionate interim steps to protect those involved and follow the Acas Code where a formal process is needed. Make sure people who raise concerns are not disadvantaged for doing so in good faith.

• Review whether your steps are working. Staff surveys, one-to-ones, exit interviews and incident records can help identify patterns and show where your approach needs to change.

You can find a full checklist with steps to prepare for these harassment law changes here, alongside a short webinar we hosted with Juliet Irving, Director of HR Operations at Impact HR, that answers some of the most common small business questions surrounding the changes.

The Equality and Human Rights Commisssions's employer 8-step guide is another useful place to begin.

3. Trade union law changes - employee awareness and union rights of access

Several trade union changes take effect on 30 October 2026, but let's start with the two key ones.

1. Workplace access:

Independent trade unions will gain new legal rights to access workplaces, either physically or virtually, to engage with workers, recruit members and provide support - even where access has previously been denied.

This means that trade unions will be able to ask any business with more than 20 employees for both physical and digital access to their workers. That could be in-person meetings, email addresses or online calls. Employers will have 15 days to respond to these requests.

If access agreements can't be reached, businesses can be fined up to £500,000, depending on the level of the breach.

2. Right-to-join notice:

Employers have a new duty to actively inform workers of their statutory right to join a trade union.

Other changes taking effect include:

• Improved legal protection for employees for participating in lawful industrial action.

• Trade union representatives, including union equality representatives, gain new rights around facilities, paid time off and protection while carrying out their duties.

• New rules to stop unfair practices that are intended to influence workers during a union recognition ballot.

What you need to do

The first thing to clarify is that these new rights of access do not mean trade unions have an unlimited right to enter any site or system.

The government is providing a detailed framework that sets out how requests, responses, negotiations and disputes are handled, alongside safeguards around how access is used. Relevant regulations and Codes of Practice will also be updated to provide further detail on how employers should apply these changes in practice. But, here's some practical advice from Jemma Fairclough-Haynes, CEO and Employment Law Specialist at Orchard Employment Law:

• Prepare a clear written statement about the right to join a trade union, and plan how you will share it with existing workers as well as new starters once the relevant requirement comes into force.

• Review onboarding, offer packs, contracts and regular internal communications.

• Nominate a lead contact for trade union questions and access requests, with a clear route for escalating complex issues to HR or legal support.

• Create a process to receive, log, assess and respond to physical and digital access requests. Think about meeting rooms, noticeboards, email, online meetings and digital noticeboards.

• Review visitor procedures, health and safety arrangements, confidentiality boundaries, privacy requirements and IT rules so you understand what restrictions might reasonably apply. Avoid a blanket refusal approach.

• Update relevant handbooks and policies to cover trade union activities, facilities, accommodation, time off, communications, workplace access and manager responsibilities.

• Brief managers on trade union recognition, bargaining units, access requests and protections linked to industrial action. Make sure they know when to involve the lead contact rather than making decisions themselves.

• Review arrangements for reasonable facilities and paid time off for recognised trade union representatives, including union equality representatives where relevant. Keep statements, policies, training and acknowledgements securely accessible.

You can get Jemma's full trade union law changes checklist for free here, or watch the mini webinar to get answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Two other changes to check, depending on your business

Not every October change will be relevant to every small business. Check whether any of these three law changes apply to your business and take action if needed.

Right to work check expansions

From 1 October 2026, right to work checks will extend to some labour supply chains, subcontracting arrangements, online matching platforms and contracts that allow substitution. If your business supplies workers or services onwards, you may be responsible for checking the right to work of the person actually carrying out the work, even if they are not directly employed by you. Civil penalties could be as high as £60,000 per illegal worker. If you simply buy services for your own business and do not supply them onwards, this new responsibility generally will not apply.

Your action: Map your labour supply arrangements and confirm who is responsible for carrying out and evidencing the relevant checks.

The reinstatement of the Two Tier Code

By the end of October 2026, the government will re-instate the 'Two-Tier Code'. This is to make sure that outsourced private sector employees don't receive worse pay or conditions than employees transferred from the public sector to perform the same work. It doesn't apply to every outsourced service or contractor, and the final details are still being confirmed.

Your action: If your business is involved in public-sector outsourcing or tenders, review the relevant contracts, workforce terms and supplier responsibilities, and monitor the government’s implementation timetable.

Your October 2026 employment law changes checklist

• Review sexual harassment and harassment policies, risk assessments and third-party controls.

• Train managers and workers, including new starters, and provide clear reporting routes.

• Prepare to update written statements and onboarding information about the right to join a trade union.

• Nominate an owner for trade union access requests and brief managers on the new framework.

• Review arrangements for trade union representatives, including facilities and paid time off where relevant.

• Update tribunal deadline procedures for claims relating to events on or after 1 October.

• Keep monitoring official guidance, because some October measures depend on final regulations or parliamentary approval.

• Check whether the right to work changes or two-tier workforce rules apply to your arrangements and take relevant action.

How to put these changes into practice (and prove it)

The October changes will make it more important to show what your business has communicated, asked managers to do and put into practice. Breathe can help you:

• Store your updated harassment policy securely and share it with employees,

• Create a risk assessment and send it to your team for digital acknowledgements,

• Assign and keep track of harassment training for all employees,

• Add trade union information to onboarding documents and workflows for new starters,

• Plus, much more.

With key communications and actions in one place, it's easier to keep your approach consistent and demonstrate the steps you've taken.

Try Breathe for free to 14 days, or check out our Employment Law Hub for more employment law resources.

Additional legislative changes surrounding unfair dismissal claims and fire and rehire practices are coming into effect in January 2027, so now's the time to do your research and put systems into place that help you stay compliant.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Employment Rights Act 2025?

The Employment Rights Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. It is the main legislation behind the employment law changes being introduced in stages throughout 2025, 2026 and 2027, including the Fair Work Agency, stronger harassment protections and changes to trade union rights. Employers should check the commencement date and guidance for each change on our Employment Law Hub.

What is the draft update and consultation to the Acas Code of Practice on grievance and disciplinary procedures, and does it require businesses to make changes in October?

Acas is consulting on a revised statutory Code that would put more emphasis on resolving workplace concerns early and informally. The draft includes clearer expectations around mediation, reasonable adjustments, suspension, manager training and explaining what informal steps were taken before a matter moves into a formal disciplinary or grievance process.

The consultation closes on 23 September 2026. The draft is not currently in force and no implementation date has been confirmed, so it won't automatically take effect or require businesses to change their procedures in October.

Acas may amend the draft after considering responses and, if it decides to proceed, will present it to the Secretary of State for approval before it is laid before Parliament.

Businesses can use the consultation as a prompt to review their procedures and manager training, but should continue to follow the current Code unless and until a revised version takes effect. Read the Acas consultation on the draft Code for the detail.

How does the trade union recognition process work?

A trade union can seek recognition voluntarily by agreement with an employer or use the statutory process through the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). In broad terms, the union identifies the group of workers it wants to represent, makes a formal recognition request and tries to agree recognition and the bargaining arrangements with the employer.

If the parties cannot agree, the union can apply to the CAC, which considers the application, determines the appropriate bargaining unit and assesses the level of worker support. Recognition may be granted without a ballot where the statutory conditions are met - otherwise, workers vote and the union must secure the required majority.

The October 2026 reforms simplify parts of the recognition process, strengthen protection against unfair practices and give unions earlier access during recognition and derecognition campaigns. They do not mean every employer must recognise a union, but they do mean businesses should have a clear process for handling recognition requests, communications and access. See our October trade union law changes checklist here.

What do “all reasonable steps” mean for a small business trying to prevent sexual harassment?

It does not mean taking every imaginable step or following one fixed checklist. The steps should be proportionate to your size and resources, the way your workplace operates, the sector you work in and the risks you have identified. For a small business, that could include a clear policy, a practical risk assessment, manager and employee training, more than one reporting route, clear expectations for customers and other third parties, prompt handling of concerns and regular reviews of whether your controls are working.

The important point is to identify foreseeable risks, take practical steps to reduce them, keep a record of what you have done and review the approach when circumstances change. The government may set out more specific requirements in future regulations, but any specified steps would sit alongside the wider duty to take all reasonable steps. Our mini webinar and checklist is a useful starting point for reviewing your approach.