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The U.K. has introduced several significant employment law changes as part of its ongoing overhaul of workers’ rights. Most of these reforms come from the Employment Rights Act 2025, which applies in England, Wales, and Scotland. Northern Ireland sets its own employment law, so these changes don’t apply there. The right-to-work changes covered below are the exception, applying across the whole U.K.
In our previous overview of the Employment Rights Act, we covered the reforms scheduled to take effect throughout 2026 and 2027. Now, several major provisions have come into force, bringing new compliance responsibilities for employers.
From stronger workplace harassment protections to longer Employment Tribunal claim deadlines, these changes affect how companies manage employees, handle workplace disputes, and maintain compliance.
Here's what's changed, what employers need to do now, and which reforms are coming next.
1. Stronger Workplace Harassment Protections (Effective October 30, 2026)
What's Changed: Employers must now take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, strengthening the previous requirement to take "reasonable steps."
The law also introduces new protections against harassment by third parties, including customers, clients, and suppliers. Employers can be held liable when an employee experiences third-party harassment during their employment and the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.
These changes place greater responsibility on employers to identify potential harassment risks and take preventive action, including when employees interact with people outside the organization.
What Employers Should Do: Review workplace harassment policies and assess risks involving employees, customers, clients, and other third parties. Ensure employees have clear procedures for reporting harassment, managers understand how to respond to complaints, and appropriate preventive training is in place.
2. Longer Employment Tribunal Claim Deadlines (Effective October 1, 2026)
What's Changed: The standard time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims has increased from three months to six months.
The extension applies to claims involving events occurring on or after October 1, 2026, including many unfair dismissal, discrimination, and unlawful deduction of wages claims. Certain exceptions and transitional rules apply.
For breach-of-contract claims in Scotland, the deadline was extended to take effect on November 9, 2026.
The longer filing period gives employees more time to pursue workplace disputes and means employers could face claims further down the line.
What Employers Should Do: Review document retention policies to ensure relevant employment records remain available for the applicable limitation periods. Maintain accurate documentation of performance management, disciplinary proceedings, grievances, and terminations to support the company's position if a dispute arises.
3. Expanded Right-to-Work Responsibilities (Effective October 1, 2026)
What's Changed: Changes introduced under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 extend right-to-work compliance requirements beyond traditional employment relationships.
The expanded framework covers specified working arrangements involving contractors, agency workers, and online matching platforms, increasing the responsibilities of businesses that engage workers outside their direct workforce.
Employers that fail to comply with applicable right-to-work requirements can face substantial penalties, with civil fines reaching up to GBP 60,000 per worker for repeat breaches.
What Employers Should Do: Review how right-to-work checks are conducted across relevant employment and contractor arrangements. Confirm which workers and third-party arrangements fall within the expanded requirements, and ensure appropriate verification procedures and records are in place.
4. Expanded Trade Union Workplace Access (Effective October 30, 2026)
What's Changed: Independent trade unions have gained new rights to request physical and digital access to workplaces, including workplaces where the employer does not formally recognize a union.
The reforms also make further changes to the statutory union recognition process, building on simplifications introduced in April 2026, and strengthen protections for trade union representatives, including expanded rights relating to paid time off and workplace facilities.
Although the new access rights are subject to statutory procedures and conditions, employers must be prepared to respond appropriately to requests from trade unions.
What Employers Should Do: Review existing policies for handling trade union communications and workplace access requests. Ensure HR teams and managers understand the new requirements, including how to respond to requests and avoid actions that could interfere with employees' trade union rights.
What Other U.K. Employment Law Changes Are Coming in 2027?
The October reforms are only part of the broader changes introduced under the Employment Rights Act.
Several additional measures are scheduled for 2027, including:
- Unfair dismissal protections (January 2027): The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal claims will decrease from two years to six months for dismissals from January 1, 2027. The cap on compensatory awards will also be removed.
- Trade union information requirements (January 2027): Employers will be required to inform workers of their right to join a trade union.
- Tipping (January 2027): Employers will be required to consult workers on their tipping policies.
- Fire and rehire (March 2027): Dismissing employees and rehiring them on less favorable terms will be automatically unfair in most cases.
- Bereavement leave (April 2027): New statutory bereavement leave rights will be introduced, including provisions covering pregnancy loss.
- Flexible working (October 2027): Employers will face additional requirements when refusing flexible working requests, including explaining why a refusal is reasonable.
- Mandatory equality action plans (2027, date to be confirmed): Employers with 250 or more employees will face new requirements to publish action plans addressing gender equality and support for employees experiencing menopause.
Further reforms affecting zero-hours contracts, guaranteed working hours, and compensation for canceled shifts are also planned, although their implementation dates have not yet been confirmed.
Employers should monitor the government's implementation timetable, as some upcoming measures remain subject to further regulations and parliamentary processes.
Keeping Up With U.K. Employment Law Changes
With several major reforms now in effect and more approaching in 2027, companies employing people in the U.K. need to ensure their policies and employment practices reflect the latest requirements.
That includes reviewing harassment prevention procedures, maintaining accurate employment records, checking right-to-work compliance, and preparing for changes to employee protections.
For companies employing workers internationally, keeping up with changing employment laws across multiple countries adds another layer of complexity.
RemoFirst helps businesses employ people in the U.K. and 185+ countries through our Employer of Record (EOR) service. We handle local employment contracts, payroll, benefits, and compliance requirements, helping companies manage their international workforce without establishing local entities.
Book a demo to learn more.
