Looking Ahead – What is Happening in October? 

There are significant employment law changes on the way in October, so what are the key changes your business needs to be aware of?

1. Change to time limit for bringing employment tribunal claims
2. Sexual harassment prevention duty – move from reasonable steps to all reasonable steps
3. Introduction of third party harassment protection
4. New rights of trade union access and statement of workers’ rights to join a trade union

Change to time limit for bringing employment tribunal claims 

The extension of standard employment tribunal time limits is to double from three to six months.  In most cases, the change will apply where the ‘relevant date’ occurs on or after 1^st October 2026, for example in the case of a claim of unfair dismissal where the termination date falls on or after 1^st October 2026. 

Extending the period in which claims can be brought means workplace disputes may remain ‘live’ for longer. When combined with the 12 week Acas Early Conciliation period, businesses could find themselves receiving tribunal claims many months after an employee has left the business / the issue occurred.

In light of this it is advisable to review your business’s document retention policies as records such as those relating to recruitment decisions, grievances, disciplinaries, dismissals and other processes may need to be retained for longer than is currently the case so that evidence remains available if a claim is later pursued. 

You may wish to carry out a quick record keeping health check to make sure appropriate and consistent records are being made and kept – and that managers understand the importance of this. It is very easy for this to be overlooked when managers are under time or other pressure, but if a claim is received (or a grievance is raised) you will need to be able to evidence that your business has acted appropriately. 

It will also be important for managers to be aware that if contact is received from ACAS as part of early conciliation or if an employment tribunal claim is made against your business, that these should not be ignored. Advice should be sought from Kingfisher Professional Services without delay. 

Sexual harassment prevention duty – move from reasonable steps to all reasonable steps 

The pro-active duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment is set to expand to taking ‘all’ reasonable steps from 30^th October 2026. As part of preparing for the change, businesses should assess and identify whether there are any further steps that can be taken to prevent sexual harassment, so that these can be implemented in good time. 

Introduction of third party harassment protection 

From 30^th October 2026 employers will be liable for harassment of their employees by third parties if the harassment occurs during the course of the employee’s employment and the employer fails to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. A third party could be a customer, client, visitor, contractor for example.

It is important to be aware that liability could arise for a single act of third party harassment and it will not just cover sexual harassment but all protected characteristics, for example harassment in relation to race, or religion. The government’s aim in changing the law is to make workplaces safer for everyone.

Businesses will need to identify and implement all the reasonable steps that they can take to prevent any third party harassment of their employees. 

New rights of access and statement of workers’ rights to join a trade union

From 30^th October 2026 employers will be required to provide a written statement to workers informing them of their right to join a trade union. The specific requirements of the duty will be set out in secondary legislation, including the content of the statement. We will keep you updated on developments so look out for a further Legal Update on this topic.

Also from 30^th October 2026, a new statutory right will allow any independent trade union to request an access agreement with an employer. It could be for physical and/or digital access to meet, support, recruit or organise workers and to facilitate collective bargaining (but not for organising industrial action). 

As a brief outline, under the statutory process a trade union will be able to request an access agreement, if they do employers must respond to requests within 15 working days of the request being sent. Employers and unions have 25 working days to negotiate an access agreement. If agreement cannot be reached, either party can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), which will then decide whether access should take place and on what terms. The CAC cannot impose an access agreement where the employer, together with any associated employers, has fewer than 21 workers. If the union requests access on ‘model terms’, the CAC is more likely to grant access, model terms will include the union being entitled to have access up to once per week. A draft statutory code of practice has been published, and if approved will also come into force on 30^th October.

One of the things that businesses will want to guard against is a request for an access agreement being missed, for example because it is sent to a general email address or received by someone who is unaware of the right. Businesses should plan ahead to at least make sure that if a request is received it is identified as such and it gets to the right person in the business so it can be dealt with promptly. If your business does get a request, please get in touch with us for advice on your situation and for assistance in responding.

If you have a HR issue your business would like help with, please do not hesitate to get in contact.