Employment Rights Act 2025: The 2026 Deadlines Small Employers Need to Know
Small employers have several employment-law changes to prepare for in 2026. The UK Government’s updated timeline for the Employment Rights Act 2025 covers the extension of the Employment Tribunal claim window, new duties relating to harassment, and updated trade union rights. Electronic trade union voting is already in force.
The changes apply to employers of all sizes, although the detail and timing can differ between measures. The safest approach is to use the official timetable as your starting point, then turn each relevant change into an action for payroll, personnel records, policies, and managers. The Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act timeline update should be the reference point for confirming what applies and when.
Before October: establish what your business needs to change
Start with a short implementation review rather than waiting for the October changes to arrive. This does not need to be a large project. A small employer can begin with four questions:
- Which employees and managers are affected by the changes?
- Which policies mention complaints, harassment, grievances, disciplinary action, or trade unions?
- What personnel records would you need if a former employee brought a claim?
- Who is responsible for checking the official timetable and updating the business?
Create one working document with the relevant measure, its effective date, the person responsible, and the action required. Keep the official source linked in that document so that anyone involved in the review can check the latest information.
This is also a useful point to review how you record working time, absences, meetings, complaints, and employment decisions. Good records do not replace legal advice, but they can make it easier to understand what happened and when. If payroll information is spread across separate spreadsheets or systems, review the process alongside your existing payroll mistake checklist. The aim is not to create unnecessary paperwork. It is to make sure important personnel information is consistent and retrievable.
From 1 October 2026: prepare for the longer Employment Tribunal claim window
From 1 October 2026, the time available to bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal will increase from three months to six months. This is one of the clearest deadlines in the Government’s updated timeline, and it has a practical consequence for small employers: an issue may remain capable of becoming a claim for longer than it does under the current window.
Before 1 October, review how your business handles the end of an employment relationship and any formal dispute. Your checklist should include:
- Record the relevant dates for resignation, dismissal, grievance, disciplinary action, or another employment decision.
- Keep copies of letters, emails, meeting notes, and the decision-making record in one secure personnel file.
- Confirm who receives and escalates former employees’ correspondence.
- Make sure managers know that a complaint or legal correspondence should not be ignored because the employee has already left.
- Review your retention and access process so authorised people can find relevant records when needed.
This is primarily a personnel and record-management change, but it can also affect payroll administration. Final pay, holiday calculations, deductions, and other payments should be recorded clearly, with the relevant dates and supporting information. Consistent time and attendance records can help explain how pay was calculated. A digital process can also reduce the risk of relying on incomplete paper timesheets; the principles covered in How To Eliminate Payroll Mistakes are relevant here.
The longer claim window does not mean that every former employee will make a claim, nor does it determine the merits of a claim. It means your process should account for the possibility that an issue may remain live for longer.
From October: update harassment procedures and manager training
The updated timeline also includes new obligations relating to harassment from October 2026. The source confirms the timing and the subject, but employers should check the official implementation material for the specific requirements that apply to their business before changing their procedures.
In the meantime, prepare the operational basics:
- Identify where employees can raise a concern about harassment.
- Decide who receives the report and who is responsible for responding.
- Review whether employees know how to report a concern confidentially and safely.
- Check that managers understand how to escalate a report instead of trying to resolve a serious issue informally.
- Keep a record of reports, actions, decisions, and follow-up, with access limited to the appropriate people.
- Review policies and training materials once the detailed requirements are confirmed.
Your policy should be easy for employees to find and understand. It should also match what the business can actually do. A procedure that promises a response from a person who is not available, or refers employees to an outdated contact, creates avoidable problems.
Small businesses can use a simple written process for this review. The same approach used for other internal procedures can help: define the steps, assign ownership, and check that the process works in practice. A Quickstart Guide to Standard Operating Procedures provides a useful framework for documenting repeatable workflows.
Review trade union rights and electronic voting
Trade union rights are another part of the October implementation timetable. The Government also confirms that electronic trade union voting is already in force. Employers should therefore review any internal process that may involve trade union communication, requests, or workplace arrangements, and confirm the current requirements before taking action.
Do not assume that an old policy or manager’s usual practice is enough. Record who is responsible for responding to union-related matters, where relevant information is stored, and when specialist advice is needed. If your business has no recognised trade union and no current union activity, the review can still be brief: note that the topic was considered and identify the person who will monitor future updates.
A practical October 2026 action list
Before the relevant changes take effect, small employers should have:
- Checked the Government’s updated timeline and identified which measures apply.
- Marked 1 October 2026 for the change from a three-month to a six-month Employment Tribunal claim window.
- Reviewed personnel, payroll, and time records for completeness and consistent date tracking.
- Updated the owner and contact details for complaints, harassment reports, and formal correspondence.
- Briefed managers on escalation and record-keeping responsibilities.
- Reviewed trade union processes and the status of electronic voting requirements.
- Recorded any points that require confirmation from an employment professional.
The practical goal is not to guess at the final detail of every measure. It is to know which deadlines affect your business, keep reliable records, and update your procedures when the official requirements are confirmed.