The Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms began in February 2026, with April bringing a significant cluster of workplace changes across areas such as paternity and parental leave, statutory sick pay, whistleblowing, trade union recognition, gender equality and menopause.
The Fair Work Agency, a new employment enforcement body, has also now been established.
We’re now entering the next major wave of change from October 2026, including:
Sexual Harassment - the duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment will shift from taking “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps” . While this may sound like a subtle change, it raises the bar significantly. Employers who are not fully up to date with the Worker Protection Act 2023 - which introduced a proactive duty in 2024 to assess risk and take preventative action - are likely to find themselves under greater scrutiny should issues arise.
Third Party Harassment - employers will become liable for harassment by third parties unless they can show they've taken all reasonable steps to prevent it. This brings behaviour by third parties, such as clients, contractors and visitors, firmly into scope. In such cases, it will be important for employers to show that they've identified risk factors applicable to their organisation- for example lone working or vulnerable groups - and be able to demonstrate that they've put appropriate safeguards in place. This might include steps such as the clear communication of behavioral expectations, contractual protections and robust reporting processes.
Employment Tribunal time limits - the time limit for submitting most claims will increase from 3 months (for most claims) to 6 months. The impact for employers is essentially twice the window of opportunity for employees to make an employment tribunal claim against them - even more incentive to get things right the first time to and avoid the stress and disruption all round.
Trade Union access - employers will be obliged to inform the workforce of their right to join a trade union. In addition, unions will gain rights of access to workplaces with 21 or more staff under “negotiated access” arrangements. This is going to be particularly relevant for non-unionised employers, as it applies even where there are no existing members and it looks like there will be significant penalties for non-compliance. In practice, this could well provide a stepping stone to full recognition for the purposes of collective bargaining, so considering the approach ahead of time could avoid employers being on the back foot.
Other October changes include expanded trade union representative rights, requirements for employers to consult on tipping policies, new measures to address “two-tier” workforces in public sector outsourcing, and the introduction of an Adult Social Care negotiating body.
Looking ahead, from 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection will reduce from two years to six months. This will apply immediately, meaning employees with continuous service from at least 1 July 2026 will gain full employment rights at that point. This creates a clear prompt for employers to strengthen recruitment practices, probation processes and early performance management.
We'll stop there for now - but it doesn't actually stop - 2027 will see many more changes.
Here at Mustard, we find that early assessment of risks and informed preparation is far preferable to reactive change. Gaining clarity now can help prevent far more complex challenges later. If you are unsure where your organisation should be focusing its attention, this is a sensible time to seek informed guidance.
If you would like Mustard to support with this, please get in touch.
