October 2026 brings another significant round of employment law changes, with several important measures taking effect during the month and further reforms following shortly afterwards.
For employers, this isn’t simply about knowing what is changing. Some of the new requirements will mean reviewing existing practices, updating processes and making sure managers understand what is expected of them.
Here are the key changes businesses should be preparing for.
📌 Employment tribunal time limits are increasing
From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing the majority of Employment Tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months.
That gives employees considerably longer to bring a claim and makes good record keeping even more important.
Six months is a long time in a busy workplace. Managers may leave, memories fade and emails, meeting notes and other documents can become harder to find. If an employment decision is later challenged, the business needs to be able to demonstrate what happened, why decisions were made and whether a fair process was followed.
➡️ Action
Make sure employment decisions and processes are properly documented and review your HR record-retention arrangements.
📌 Right to Work checks are being extended
Also from 1 October, Right to Work requirements will extend beyond employees to cover a wider range of people working for a business, including casual workers, zero-hours workers, other workers who are not employees and individual subcontractors.
Businesses that use flexible working arrangements should therefore review who works for them and make sure the appropriate checks are being completed before work starts.
This is particularly important where responsibility for onboarding is shared between different managers or departments. A clear and consistent process can help prevent people from inadvertently slipping through the net.
➡️ Action
Review who works for your business and make sure the appropriate Right to Work checks are completed before work starts.
📌 Stronger protection against workplace harassment
The preventative duty introduced in 2024 already requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. From 30 October 2026, this will be strengthened, with employers required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Employers will also face liability for harassment by third parties, such as customers, clients and other non-employees.
Having the right policy is only part of the picture. Prevention is an ongoing responsibility, and employers need to be able to demonstrate that they are taking proactive and ongoing steps rather than treating training or other preventative measures as a one-off exercise.
➡️ Action
Review your harassment policy and workplace risks, and make sure employees and managers have appropriate, up-to-date training.
💡 We can help 💡
HR Surgery offers practical employee and manager training, as well as a Sexual Harassment Prevention Toolkit to help businesses identify risks and put appropriate preventative measures in place.
📌 Changes to trade union rights
There are also changes to trade union rights, although following a recent change to the implementation timetable, they will now take effect at different times.
From 30 October 2026, independent trade unions will have new workplace access rights, allowing them to engage with workers in person or digitally. The new workplace access arrangements will apply to employers with 21 or more workers. Trade union representatives will also receive strengthened rights and protections.
A separate requirement for employers to provide workers with written information about their right to join a trade union will now take effect from January 2027.
➡️ Action
Make sure relevant managers understand the new workplace access arrangements and know what to do if they receive a request from a trade union. Prepare for the separate information requirement coming into effect in January 2027.
📌 Tipping law is being strengthened
By the end of 2026, employers will need to consult workers when developing or reviewing their tipping policy and review the policy at least every three years.
This will be particularly relevant to businesses where tips and service charges are common, including cafés, restaurants, hospitality businesses, hairdressers and beauty businesses.
➡️ Action
If tipping applies to your business, check that you have an appropriate written policy in place and are ready to involve workers when it is reviewed.
📌 Preparing for unfair dismissal changes
Looking slightly further ahead, another significant change arrives on 1 January 2027.
The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal will reduce from two years to six months, while the existing cap on compensatory awards for successful unfair dismissal claims will be removed.
This makes effective recruitment, probation and early performance management increasingly important. Concerns shouldn’t be left unresolved simply because somebody has relatively short service.
➡️ Action
Review your recruitment, probation and performance management processes and make sure managers address and document concerns promptly.
⏰ Don’t wait until the changes arrive
With several changes happening within a relatively short period, employers may be tempted to deal with each one as it comes.
A more effective approach is to look at your HR arrangements as a whole. Are your policies up to date? Are your managers confident handling employee issues? Are decisions properly documented? Do your onboarding processes cover everyone they need to? Have you considered the particular harassment risks within your workplace?
Taking action now can make each change much easier to manage.
At HR Surgery, we provide straightforward advice and pragmatic support to help businesses prepare for employment law changes in a practical and commercially sensible way. We can help you review policies and processes, support and train managers and employees, and make sure your business is ready for the changes ahead.
If you’d like support preparing your business for the October employment law changes, get in touch with HR Surgery.
