Employment Rights Act: the Q4 changes coming up

A continuation of my Employment Rights Act changes for 2026. As we know, the Employment Rights Act is being phased in, and the next two changes take effect this coming October.

The first change: from 1 October 2026, employees will have six months rather than three to bring most tribunal claims.

The second change: from 30 October 2026, the duty to prevent sexual harassment steps up for all employers. Right now, the law asks you to take “reasonable steps” to prevent it. From this date, you must be able to show you took all reasonable steps, and if a client, customer or other third party harasses a member of your staff, you can be held legally responsible unless you did.

Nothing for my clients, or you the reader, to panic about, but both require proper planning.

The January date on the right is the big one, and I have already covered it in detail in my last blog post on the 2027 unfair dismissal changes.

1. The tribunal claim window doubles on 1 October 2026

At the moment, an employee generally has three months (less one day) from a dismissal or the act they are complaining about to start a tribunal claim. From 1 October 2026 that becomes six months for most claim types, including unfair dismissal, discrimination and unpaid wages.

Acas early conciliation (the required step of notifying Acas before a claim can be lodged, which pauses the clock while you try to settle) still applies. What changes is the risk. An exit or termination handled badly in November can still turn into a claim the following May, and the issue here is that managers move on and memories soften. The written record is what a tribunal actually reads, and it matters more now this window has just doubled.

2. The harassment duty steps up on 30 October

Since October 2024, employers have had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their staff. From 30 October 2026 that word “reasonable” gains a very important additional word: you must take “all” reasonable steps. This change also means you become liable if a third party such as a client, customer or event guest sexually harasses any employee in the course of their work, unless you took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

A policy plus an annual slide deck was arguably enough under the old wording. Under the new one, a tribunal will ask what else you could reasonably have done, and whether you did it. The third-party angle matters for any business where staff deal with clients or the public. The client dinner, the launch event, the customer who oversteps: those situations are now squarely part of your risk map, not just what happens inside your own team.

What to do before October

None of this needs legal review or the need to spend a fortune. It needs a process that actually happens, written down and risk assessed.

3. October 2026 is the warm-up for January

These two changes arrive ahead of the larger one. From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal drops from two years to six months and the cap on compensation goes. I have written about what that means for probation in Unfair dismissal is changing in 2027, and the short version is that how you handle the first months of employment is about to matter far more. You can read more about this upcoming change in my last blog post.

If your policies and processes need a proper once-over before the autumn, that is exactly what my HR foundations covers.

FAQs

Which claims move to the six-month time limit?

Most tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination and unpaid wages. The change applies from 1 October 2026. Acas early conciliation still applies before a claim can be lodged.

Does the harassment duty apply to small employers?

Yes. The duty applies to employers of every size, whether you employ two people or two hundred. Tribunals will weigh what steps were reasonable for a business of your size and resources, but “we are small” is not an exemption.

What counts as all reasonable steps?

There is no fixed list. In practice, tribunals look for a current risk assessment, a clear policy people know about, training that actually happened, a trusted reporting route and evidence you act on complaints. The stronger question to ask yourself is what else you could reasonably do, because that is the question a tribunal will ask.

Am I liable if a customer harasses one of my team?

From 30 October 2026, yes, you can be, unless you took all reasonable steps to prevent it. That is why client-facing situations, events and socials belong in your risk assessment.

If you would like a second pair of eyes on your exit process or your harassment prevention approach before October, book a call and we will find a time.