The Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36), a United Kingdom Act that received Royal Assent on December 18, 2025, applies its harassment and union-access wave on October 30, 2026, on the Department for Business and Trade timetable. GB employers with customer-facing workforces, employers with trade-union recognition or recognition requests, and employers using agency, contractor or platform workers must have updated sexual-harassment policies, training and all-reasonable-steps measures covering third-party harassment, and be ready for strengthened trade-union access and recognition, by October 30, 2026, or face Employment Tribunal claims with uplifted compensation under the Equality Act 2010 and Fair Work Agency enforcement on the union rights.
The GOV.UK Plan to Make Work Pay timeline (updated August 2026) names October 30, 2026 and states that future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes. That caveat is not an adopted postponement. The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union sits in January 2027, not on this wave.
- Deadline : October 30, 2026, when the harassment and union-access wave applies
- Who : GB employers exposed to sexual harassment, including by third parties, and employers with union recognition or recognition requests
- What : All reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, including third-party harassment, and readiness for strengthened union access and recognition
- Otherwise : Employment Tribunal claims with uplifted compensation under the Equality Act 2010, and tribunal claims plus Fair Work Agency enforcement on the union rights
- Official source : Employment Rights Act 2025 (c. 36)
What applies on October 30, 2026
On October 30, 2026, employers in Great Britain must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and must not permit third-party harassment. The same wave covers strengthened trade-union access and recognition. It does not start the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union, dated January 2027. The commencement statutory instrument is still subject to parliamentary process. Royal Assent on December 18, 2025 put only part of the Act in force. Tribunal time limits move to six months on October 1, 2026. The six-month unfair-dismissal qualifying period and fire-and-rehire protections are dated January 1, 2027.
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| Royal Assent, partial in-force | December 18, 2025 |
| Fair Work Agency established | April 7, 2026 |
| Harassment and union-access wave | October 30, 2026 |
| Unfair dismissal and fire-and-rehire | January 1, 2027 |
Who is covered
The harassment duty covers employers in Great Britain: retail, hospitality, healthcare and social care with customer-facing staff; professional services, logistics and manufacturing with sexual-harassment risk; and employers of agency, contractor or platform workers who meet third parties. Union access and recognition cover employers that recognise a union and employers that receive a statutory recognition request. Northern Ireland follows the Act's devolution carve-outs. Duties bite only as each section is commenced under section 159.
What to do before October 30, 2026
- Rewrite the sexual-harassment policy to the all-reasonable-steps standard, including third parties.
- Train managers and customer-facing staff on that standard before October 30, 2026.
- Map roles where third parties meet staff, including agency, contractor and platform workers.
- Review recognition arrangements and live statutory recognition requests against the October 30, 2026 access rights.
- Keep the duty to inform workers of the right to join a trade union on the January 2027 date.
What happens otherwise
Missing the all-reasonable-steps duty, including on third-party harassment, exposes GB employers to Employment Tribunal claims with uplifted compensation under the Equality Act 2010. Breach of the union access and recognition rights leads to tribunal claims and Fair Work Agency enforcement. The Department for Business and Trade owns the policy. Acas publishes guidance. The dossier states no fixed fine for this wave.
Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces a commencement date the day the statutory instrument is laid.
