UK confirms the October dates: tribunal claims get six months from 1 October, the harassment duty tightens on 30 October

UK confirms the October dates: tribunal claims get six months from 1 October, the harassment duty tightens on 30 October

25 September 2026 — The Department for Business and Trade updated its timeline for the Employment Rights Act on 25 September 2026 to confirm the measures taking effect in October. The government notes that all future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.

1 October 2026

• Employment Tribunal time limit: the time limit for bringing a claim rises from three months to six months. In Scotland, the change for breach-of-contract claims applies from 9 November 2026.

30 October 2026

• Sexual harassment: employers must take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their employees — a higher bar than the existing duty to take reasonable steps.
• Trade unions: stronger rights of access for trade unions to workplaces, and reforms to the statutory recognition process.
• Regulations to set up the Fair Pay Agreement negotiating body for adult social care.

What follows

• By the end of 2026: strengthened tipping law.
• January 2027: the unfair-dismissal qualifying period falls to six months, the cap on compensatory awards is removed, fire-and-rehire protections begin, and employers must inform workers of their right to join a trade union. The government published its response on that last duty on 25 September.

Who is affected

Every employer in Great Britain, and in particular HR, legal and people-operations teams, and the providers of HR information systems, case-management, policy and training software whose templates and workflows embed these rules.

What to do

• Update case-management and HR letter templates for the six-month claim window.
• Before 30 October, review harassment policies, risk assessments, reporting routes and training records against the "all reasonable steps" standard, and keep evidence of what you did.
• Prepare for union access requests and the new recognition process.
• Plan now for January 2027: dismissal processes, contract templates and the written statement on the right to join a union.
• Ask your HR-software and training providers when their templates and courses will reflect the new rules.

Sources

• GOV.UK (Department for Business and Trade): Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act — timeline update (updated 25 September) — 25 September 2026
• GOV.UK: Make Work Pay — duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union (government response) — 25 September 2026
• HR News: New anti-harassment rules — businesses urged to act before the 30 October deadline — 25 September 2026