Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025: What’s Changing in October 2026

With further Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) changes due in October 2026, employers should prepare now. This article outlines the key incoming measures.

Summary of Key Dates

Extension of Employment Tribunal Time Limits (expected 1st October)

In October 2026, time limits for most tribunal claims are expected to increase from three to six months. This provides employees more time to seek advice before pursuing litigation, and for parties to explore resolution beforehand.

However, combined with the previously increased 12-week Acas early conciliation period, employers will face a longer period of uncertainty over whether a claim will be brought. Later claims may also pose evidential difficulties during proceedings, where memories fade, witnesses leave or documents become harder to locate. Clear documentation, good record-keeping and robust retention of documents will therefore be key.

It is anticipated that this change will take effect on 1 October 2026, as this date has already been confirmed for a limited number of claims.

Trade Union Reforms (30th October 2026)

Significant trade union reform is expected under the ERA as of 30 October 2026.

New duty to inform workers of trade union rights

All employers will need to inform workers of their right to join a trade union when issuing their particulars of employment, and at other prescribed times. It is anticipated that a standard government document will be prepared for distribution, although precise details on content, form, frequency and manner are still awaited.

Expanded trade union access to workplaces

Further, trade unions are expected to gain new statutory rights to access workplaces, enabling engagement with workers for representation, support, recruitment, organisation and collective bargaining. Unions can negotiate with an employer for physical or virtual access to workplaces.

Unless voluntary agreement is reached, it is anticipated that the access process will be prescribed, with involvement of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) who may determine access terms if agreement cannot be reached. The implementation date remains subject to approval of commencement regulations.

Enhanced protections relating to industrial action

Workers will gain enhanced protections against detriments for undertaking industrial action.

Employers must be alive to this, for example when undertaking disciplinary action involving those who have participated in industrial action, ensuring concerns are clearly unrelated and supported by evidence.

Greater rights for trade union representatives

In conjunction, trade union representatives will gain enhanced rights, including:

• Paid time off for “equality representatives”
• Reasonable facilities to carry out duties or training where requested
• Tribunal protection where time off or facilities are unreasonably refused.

The burden of proof will sit with the employer to show a request was unreasonable.

Strengthening unfair practices

Finally, the unfair practices regime will be strengthened from October 2026, to ensure safeguards are in place before recognition ballots are modernised in 2027. This date is confirmed subject to approval of commencement regulations.

 At a high level, this will likely involve:

• Bargaining units capped à staff recruited during the recognition process will be excluded from the bargaining unit and any subsequent recognition ballot.
• Extension of unfair practices rules à the prohibition on unfair practices will be extended to apply throughout the recognition process from the point where the CAC accepts the union’s statutory recognition application.
• Clearer unfair practices à the ERA provides a clearer list of practices that are considered to be unfair.
• Updated complaints process à parties may complain to the CAC regarding unfair practices and where upheld, the CAC can act, up to and including a declaration that a union is or is not recognised depending on fault. Complaint time limits will be extended.

The above measures are likely to make trade unions more prominent in everyday working life. In particular, confidence in handling union approaches will be key. Where unsure, we encourage seeking advice swiftly. A new Code of Practice will support several of the changes.

Employer Duties to Prevent Workplace Harassment (30th October 2026)

The current duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment will become a duty to take ‘all reasonable steps’, requiring employers to do everything reasonably practicable to prevent sexual harassment of employees before it occurs.

What is reasonable will depend on factors such as:

• Organisation size
• Sector
• Risks
• Resources

Further, a power will be introduced, allowing regulations to be made specifying steps that are considered ‘reasonable’ for the purpose of meeting the new duty, though the steps are not anticipated until 2027.  Pending this, the Equality and Human Rights Commission provides valuable guidance on harassment at work which should be considered now.

Protection from third-party harassment

The ERA will also introduce protection against third-party harassment across all protected characteristics. Where a third party harasses an employee during employment, and the employer fails to take all reasonable steps to prevent this, an employer will be treated as having permitted this. This will be more challenging in sectors where employers have more exposure to, and less control over third parties, including hospitality, retail and care.

Preparing for the new harassment requirements

In view of the above, employers must update policies, implement training, and strengthen reporting channels. It will be key to undertake/update risk assessments now, to identify risk areas, and implement steps. Records of actions and progress should be maintained.

Adult Social Care Reform (exact date to be determined)

The ERA will introduce a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) process for the social care sector. In England, the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will be established in October 2026 to enable this.

Negotiations will concern minimum pay, terms and conditions. Whilst broader issues are in scope, pay and terms are expected to be the initial focus – the intention being to address existing concerns relating to low pay and high turnover, in view of growing demand for care services. The first FPA is expected to operate during the 2028/29 financial year.

Regulations made cannot reduce existing terms, nor can they prevent more favourable terms being offered to social care workers. Employers in the adult care sector should monitor the timeline and assess potential impacts on current terms.

Public Sector Outsourcing (exact date to be determined)

In October, the former ‘two-tier Code’ will be reinstated, and strengthened. Simply put, the new measure aims to ensure that where public services are outsourced to the private sector, the contractor’s existing staff are treated no less favourably than those incoming from the public sector.

The intention is to prevent the emergence of a ‘two-tier’ workforce, e.g. where supplier or sub-contractor employees working on an outsourced public sector service contract have less favourable terms compared to those employees who were transferred to work on it from the public sector.

Ministers will be empowered to make regulations detailing provisions which contracting authorities must include in relevant outsourcing contracts, for the purpose of achieving the aim. A code of practice will support this measure.

Public sector bodies, contractors and sub-contractors should remain alive to this change and any regulations, consider outsourcing arrangements, and whether terms are aligned.

How Should Employers Prepare for ERA 2025 Changes?

Although some implementation details remain subject to consultation and secondary legislation, employers should act now to prepare for October 2026.

Key priorities include:

1. Reviewing and updating harassment policies, risk assessments and preventative measures.
2. Implementing training for both employees and management on harassment, alongside strengthening reporting channels.
3. Updating onboarding documentation.
4. Preparing managers for trade union reforms, and preparation for access requests.
5. Strengthening record-keeping and document retention procedures.
6. Monitoring sector-specific changes affecting social care and public sector contracts.
7. Seeking legal advice where organisational risks are identified.

Early preparation will help employers remain compliant, minimise disruption and reduce the risk of employment disputes as the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms continue to take effect.

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