Preparing for the first wave of October Employment Law reform

The beginning of next month will see the first round of a number of important employment law changes coming into force over the next six months that will raise expectations on employers and reshape how workplace issues are managed. The challenge is not simply understanding the legislation, but ensuring organisations are operationally prepared for it.

From my perspective, there is a visible gap between awareness and action. Some employers have heard about the reforms but have not yet considered what they mean in practice, while others are so focused on future changes around unfair dismissal coming into force from January 2027, that the October changes have slipped down the priority list altogether.

The risk is particularly higher amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), where HR responsibilities are stretched and often spread across management teams already balancing competing priorities. Yet the organisations that have invested time in preparing are likely to be in a much better position than those that wait until a claim arises or an issue lands on their desk.

The extension of Employment Tribunal time limits – coming into force on October 1st – is one of the most significant changes. Currently, employees generally have three months to begin the process of bringing a claim, including notifying ACAS through the Early Conciliation process. Under the reforms, that period will increase to six months.

Extending the timeframe gives individuals more opportunity to seek legal advice, consider their options and pursue legal action. As a result, it is reasonable to expect more disputes to progress through the tribunal system.

There is not a great deal employers can do to prevent that risk. What organisations can do, however, is ensure that decisions relating to disciplinary matters, grievances and dismissals are properly documented and that records are retained for longer. A dispute that might previously have felt safe in the past may now remain a live issue for twice as long.

A second, separate set of reforms follows a few weeks later, on 30th October. These will strengthen employers’ obligations to prevent sexual harassment, requiring them to take all reasonable steps to protect employees in the workplace, a higher bar than the current duty to take reasonable steps. Employers will also become responsible for addressing harassment by third parties, such as customers, clients and contractors, unless they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Historically, many organisations have focused on how to respond when incidents occur, but these reforms place greater weight on prevention. The question therefore is no longer simply whether an employer reacts appropriately following an incident. It is whether sufficient steps were taken to stop the incident from happening in the first place.