By Michael Dobson, Director of Sapphire HR
October is shaping up to be another important month in the ongoing changes to UK employment law. And while some of the biggest reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 are still to come, the next wave should be firmly on your radar.
The Government’s latest timeline, updated in August, confirms that some key measures will take effect from October. As with previous changes, the details and timings remain subject to parliamentary processes, but businesses should be preparing rather than waiting for the final few weeks.
The first change arrives on 1st October, when the time limit for bringing an Employment Tribunal claim will increase from three months to six months. For employers, that means potential disputes can remain live for considerably longer. Good records and sound decision-making will become even more important, especially when dealing with dismissals or grievances.
Then, on 30th October, we’ll see a substantial set of changes around trade unions and workplace harassment. For businesses that have never dealt with a trade union, these changes might seem less relevant. I would urge employers not to make that assumption.
From October, employers will have a new duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union, while trade unions will have stronger rights to access workplaces and communicate with workers. There will also be further changes around union recognition and protections for employees taking industrial action.
So, employers need to be more prepared for trade union engagement, even if they have historically operated in a completely nonunionised environment.
The other major October change concerns sexual harassment. Employers will be required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of employees, alongside a new obligation relating to harassment by third parties. This is particularly important because the expectation is moving beyond simply having a policy sitting in an employee handbook.
Employers need to think about what they are doing in practice.
Are managers trained to recognise inappropriate behaviour? Do employees know how to raise concerns? Are workplace cultures being monitored? And if an issue is raised, does the business respond properly? These are the kind of questions I would encourage every employer to consider now, rather than waiting for October.
There are also further changes coming later, including the reduction of the unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months and the removal of the compensatory award cap from January 2027. For SMEs, these reforms could have a significant impact on how employment decisions are managed.
That’s why we’re holding our 2026 Employment Law Update at St James’ Park on Thursday 10th September, in partnership with Swinburne Maddison LLP. We’ll be taking a practical look at the changes already in force, what’s coming next and, importantly, what employers can do about them. You can find the details for this on our website.
But for now, this is what I’d say to business owners: Don’t try to absorb every law change at the last minute. Take some time now to review your policies, brief your managers, and identify where your business could be exposed. Employment law is moving quickly. But the businesses that cope best will be those that make steady, informed changes rather than waiting for the next deadline to arrive.
www.sapphire-hr.co.uk