Two changes to workplace law have arrived within weeks of each other, and both reward people who act early. Workers now have longer to bring most employment tribunal claims, while employers face a tougher legal duty to prevent sexual harassment.
In this article we will discuss what has changed and when, how the longer deadline works in practice, what “all reasonable steps” is likely to demand of employers, and which other parts of the Employment Rights Act have already started or are still to come.
The Tribunal Time Limit Moves From Three Months to Six
According to Acas, the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims increased from three months to six months from 1 October 2026. The word “most” matters: the change does not apply to every kind of claim in the same way, and readers with an unusual type of dispute should check the Acas guidance or ask an adviser. For the typical worker with a complaint about how they were treated at work, though, the window for starting the formal process is now twice as long as it was.
The change comes from the Employment Rights Act, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. Parts of the Act have been switched on in stages since then, and the tribunal limit is one of the stages most likely to affect individual workers directly, because it governs how long they have to decide whether to take a dispute further.
A longer window changes the position of employers too. Claims can now arrive later, so records of rotas, emails, meeting notes and decisions need to be kept for longer than some businesses are used to. An employer that clears out its files after a few months may find that it cannot reconstruct what happened when a claim finally lands. Setting a sensible retention schedule, and suspending routine deletion when a dispute is brewing, is a low-cost way of avoiding that problem.
Older Problems and the Transition
Acas notes that problems which began before 1 October 2026 may still be subject to the previous three-month limit. That is the part of the change most likely to catch people out. If something went wrong in the summer, you should not assume that the new six-month period automatically applies to it. The safest approach is to count the time using the shorter period unless you have been told, by Acas or a qualified adviser, that the longer one definitely applies to your situation.
Scotland and Breach of Contract Claims
VinciWorks, which publishes a timeline of the Act’s commencement dates, reports that for breach of contract claims in Scotland the change takes effect later, on 9 November 2026. That is a single-source detail, so Scottish readers with a contract dispute should confirm it with Acas or an adviser rather than rely on this article. It illustrates a general point: the same Act can bring different parts into force on different dates, and the date that matters is the one that applies to your type of claim.
Northern Ireland
The Employment Rights Act applies to Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own employment law and its own tribunal system, and changes made in London do not automatically carry across. Readers in Northern Ireland should check the position with the relevant local bodies instead of assuming the six-month period applies to them.
Deadlines Still Bite, so Longer Is Not a Reason to Wait
A doubled time limit invites a dangerous thought: there is no rush. Resist it. Time limits for tribunal claims are strict by design, because evidence fades, witnesses move on and employers need to know within a reasonable period whether a dispute may become a case. Tribunals have narrow powers to accept a late claim, and a worker who relies on the hope that one will be allowed is taking a real gamble.
There are also practical reasons to move early that have nothing to do with deadlines. Emails, messages and rotas are easier to find soon after an event. Colleagues who saw something remember it better. Many workplace disputes are settled by conversation, and the earlier a problem is raised, the more options there are to resolve it without a formal claim.
Keep a Dated Record
Start a note the day something happens. Write down what was said or done, the date and time, where it happened, who was present and what you did next. Keep copies of relevant messages, performance reviews, contracts and policies somewhere you can reach if you lose access to work systems. Be careful about what you take from an employer’s systems, though; copying confidential material can create its own difficulties, so ask an adviser if in doubt about what is safe to keep.
Early Conciliation First
For most tribunal claims, a worker is expected to go through a process called early conciliation with Acas before the claim can be lodged. It is a free service in which a conciliator talks to both sides and tries to reach an agreement without a hearing. The process can affect how the time limit is counted, and the rules are technical, so check Acas for the current position rather than working it out from memory. Starting the process is not an admission that you will definitely bring a claim, and many people find it a useful way to find out whether the employer is open to talking.
Workers sometimes worry that raising a problem will damage their position. That fear is natural, and it is one reason why advice before action is worth having. Acas, a union or an adviser can explain the choices, from an informal word, to a written grievance, to conciliation, to a claim, and which of those protects your position best in your situation.
The point to remember is that the clock does not stop for convenience. Whether you are waiting for the outcome of an internal grievance, negotiating an exit or recovering from a difficult period, the time is running unless an official rule says otherwise. If you are unsure, ask Acas, a trade union representative, an independent advice centre or a solicitor early.
Employers Must Now Take All Reasonable Steps to Prevent Sexual Harassment
The second headline change concerns the duty on employers. Acas says that from 30 October 2026 employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their workers. Before that, the wording was just “reasonable steps”. Two extra words may look like a drafting tweak, but in law the difference is substantial in how a tribunal is likely to test an employer’s conduct.
Under the earlier wording, an employer who had done something sensible could argue that it had met the standard. The new wording asks a harder question: was there anything else a reasonable employer could have done? If a step was available, affordable and likely to help, the fact that the employer took other steps may not be enough. The duty is therefore about completeness, not about gestures.
VinciWorks adds that the duty was originally due to start on 1 October, and the start was later moved to 30 October. That is another single-source detail and a reminder of why employers should rely on the current official guidance. VinciWorks also says that ministers can specify evidence-based steps for preventing harassment, which suggests that more detail may follow about what counts. Its own page warns that future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.
What Counts as Sexual Harassment
In general terms, sexual harassment means unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates someone’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. That can include comments, jokes, messages, images, unwanted touching, persistent requests for dates and the sharing of explicit material. It does not have to be aimed at one person, and it can happen in person, online or at work-related social events. The label an employer prefers, such as banter, does not change how the conduct is judged.
What the Duty Does Not Do
The duty does not guarantee that harassment will never happen, and an employer is not automatically in breach just because an incident occurred. The question is about prevention: what the organisation did to make harassment less likely and to deal with it properly. This is why paperwork alone is rarely enough. A policy that sits in a drawer, with no training and no one willing to use the complaints route, is the kind of thing a sceptical tribunal can be expected to dismiss as insufficient.
Third-Party Harassment Is Part of the Picture
VinciWorks reports that employers must not permit harassment of their workers by third parties. In general terms, a third party is anyone who is not employed by the organisation but who deals with its staff: customers, clients, patients, visitors, contractors, suppliers and delivery drivers. Think of a bar worker subjected to remarks from regulars, a care worker whose client makes unwanted advances, or a receptionist approached repeatedly by a visitor.
The practical effect is that “the customer is always right” can no longer sit comfortably alongside a duty to protect staff. An employer that tells staff to put up with it, or that does not act when a worker reports a client’s behaviour, is exposed. This is a single-source report, and the precise scope of the obligation depends on the wording of the law and any guidance issued under it, so employers in sectors with a lot of public contact should read the official material closely.
What can an employer reasonably do about people it does not employ? Several things are within its control. It can set out expected behaviour in terms of business, in signs, booking conditions and contracts. It can give staff a clear route to report incidents and a promise that they will be taken seriously. It can adjust rotas so no one works alone with a known problem client. It can warn, restrict or end a relationship with a customer or contractor who will not stop. None of these needs a large budget, though some require managers willing to have an awkward conversation.
Showing Reasonable Steps in Practice
Because the standard is now “all reasonable steps”, employers need to be able to show their work. A tribunal looking at a harassment claim will want evidence of what was done before the incident, not a hurried set of improvements afterwards. The following areas are the usual building blocks, offered as general ideas rather than a legal checklist.
Risk Assessment
Begin by asking where harassment is most likely in your organisation. Late shifts, lone working, alcohol, customer-facing roles, remote supervision, power imbalances between managers and junior staff and social events all raise the risk. A written risk assessment, reviewed regularly and shared with managers, turns a vague worry into a list of specific problems with owners and deadlines.
Policy and Reporting Routes
A good policy says in plain words what counts as sexual harassment, gives examples relevant to the workplace, names the people to whom a report can be made and explains what will happen next. It also offers more than one route, because a worker may not feel able to complain to a line manager who is the source of the problem. Make clear that victimising someone for raising a concern will itself be treated as serious misconduct.
Training That Goes Beyond a Once-a-Year Video
Training works best when it is regular, tailored and led or backed by senior people. Managers need to know how to respond when someone confides in them, including that they should not promise confidentiality they cannot keep. Staff need to know what is not acceptable and how to speak up. Short refreshers and scenario discussions tend to stick better than a long, generic module.
Records and Follow-Through
Keep a record of complaints, what was investigated, what was decided and what changed afterwards. Look for patterns, such as the same location, manager or client appearing again and again. Where a complaint is upheld, the response should be proportionate and visible enough that staff believe the system works. Where a complaint is not upheld, the person who raised it still deserves a clear explanation and protection from retaliation.
| Employer action | What it shows | Common weakness |
| Written risk assessment | The organisation looked for danger before it happened | Done once and never revisited |
| Clear policy and several reporting routes | Workers know where to go | A single route through the person causing concern |
| Regular training for staff and managers | Expectations are communicated | A tick-box course with no discussion |
| Records of complaints and outcomes | Issues were taken seriously | Informal chats that leave no trace |
| Action on third-party behaviour | Duty extends beyond employees | Staff told to tolerate difficult customers |
An illustration, with invented details: imagine a restaurant where the manager hears that a regular diner keeps touching a waiter’s arm and making remarks. If the manager says nothing, rotas the waiter onto that table again and records nothing, a later claim will look weak for the employer. If the manager speaks to the diner, moves the waiter, notes the incident, and checks in a week later, the business can show a record of steps taken, even though the incident still happened.
Smaller Employers Face the Same Duty With Fewer Resources
A business with five staff and no HR department may read all this with a sinking heart. The law does not ask a small firm to behave like a multinational, but it is the “reasonable” in “all reasonable steps” that offers the flexibility, and what is reasonable depends on size and means. A corner shop cannot run a dedicated compliance team; it can adopt a short written policy, brief everyone on it, name an outside person for staff to talk to and write things down.
Many of the most effective measures cost little. A thirty-minute conversation at induction, a poster that tells people how to report a problem, a monthly check-in that includes the question “has anything made you uncomfortable?”, and a standing rule that no one is expected to tolerate abuse from a customer all take time rather than money. Free resources from Acas and trade bodies can supply templates, and a small firm that keeps a simple record of what it has done will be in a stronger position than one that did good work but cannot prove it.
The risk is complacency. Small workplaces are often close-knit, and closeness can make it harder for a junior worker to complain about the owner’s friend or relative. If the boss is the problem, a policy that routes all complaints to the boss is useless. Think about who an employee could contact instead, even if that means an outside adviser engaged for a modest fee.
Other Changes Already in Force and Still to Come
The harassment duty and the new tribunal limit sit within a wider package. VinciWorks lists a number of measures that are already live. From 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay became payable from the first qualifying day and the lower earnings limit was removed; Acas confirms that SSP is now payable from the first day of illness instead of the fourth. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day one rights, and the Fair Work Agency was established on 7 April 2026.
VinciWorks also reports that trade union measures took effect on 30 October, the same day as the new harassment duty. These include right-to-join notices, access rights for unions and reforms to recognition. Looking ahead, it says employers must consult workers on written tipping policies by the end of 2026. VinciWorks states plainly that future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change, so anyone planning around a particular start date should confirm it before committing.
| Measure | Date given | Source |
| Statutory sick pay from the first qualifying day, lower earnings limit removed | 6 April 2026 | VinciWorks, with Acas confirming sick pay from day one |
| Paternity and unpaid parental leave as day one rights | 6 April 2026 | VinciWorks |
| Fair Work Agency established | 7 April 2026 | VinciWorks |
| Tribunal time limit for most claims rises to six months | 1 October 2026 | Acas |
| Breach of contract claims in Scotland: six-month change | 9 November 2026 | VinciWorks (single source) |
| Duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment | 30 October 2026 | Acas |
| Trade union measures (right-to-join notices, access rights, recognition reforms) | 30 October 2026 | VinciWorks |
| Consultation on written tipping policies | By the end of 2026 | VinciWorks |
Several of these items affect everyday money and time rather than formal disputes. A worker who is ill no longer faces an unpaid gap at the start of absence, and a new parent or carer gets certain leave rights from the first day in a job. Employers that run payroll in-house should test their systems against the new sick pay rules, since errors in the first weeks of a change are common and easy to fix if caught early.
For workers, the value of this table is mainly in knowing which rights you now hold. Sick pay from day one removes a waiting period that once left people choosing between rest and rent. For employers, it is a reminder that payroll systems, handbooks and manager training all need updating, and that the Fair Work Agency now exists as a new body that employers should keep an eye on.
Whatever the size of the organisation, the change in the law is a prompt to look at culture as well as paperwork. People judge a workplace by what happens when someone complains: whether they are believed, whether the matter is handled quickly, and whether the person who spoke up is treated fairly afterwards. An employer that gets those basics right will usually find the formal requirements much easier to meet. Leaders set the tone here, and staff notice quickly whether senior people take the subject seriously.
Final Thoughts: What to Do Next
If you are a worker with a problem, begin with the practical steps that cost nothing. Write down dates and events today, store copies safely, read your employer’s grievance policy and consider speaking to Acas for free guidance. Do not assume the longer period applies if the events began before 1 October 2026, and do not assume you have more time than you do. If you are a union member, tell your representative early. If your problem involves harassment, you can also ask what the employer has done to prevent it; the answer may be informative.
If you run a business or manage people, this month is the time to review your arrangements. Check that your harassment policy was updated to reflect the new standard and covers third parties. Run or refresh a risk assessment, agree who handles complaints and what happens if the complaint concerns a senior person, and book training for managers. Keep minutes and records, and diarise a review for a few months from now so that the work does not lapse once the first burst of effort is over. If you cannot afford specialist HR support, a short call to Acas or a trade body helpline can help you sense-check the plan before you spend money on it. Check your sick pay arrangements and handbooks against the changes already in force.
Whichever side of the desk you sit on, remember that this article offers general information, not legal advice. The law has several moving parts and some dates have already shifted once. Acas, a solicitor, a law centre, an advice charity or a union can advise on a specific situation, and Northern Ireland readers should look to their own local rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How Long Do I Have to Bring an Employment Tribunal Claim Now?
According to Acas, the time limit for most claims increased from three months to six months from 1 October 2026. Problems that started before that date may still be subject to the previous three-month limit, so check your own dates carefully.
2. When Does the New Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment Start?
Acas says employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment from 30 October 2026. VinciWorks reports that the duty was originally due on 1 October.
3. Does the Six-Month Time Limit Apply in Scotland?
Mostly it follows the same pattern, but VinciWorks reports a later date of 9 November 2026 for breach of contract claims in Scotland. Treat that as a single-source detail and confirm it with Acas or an adviser.
4. Can an Employer Be Responsible for Harassment by Customers?
VinciWorks reports that employers must not permit third-party harassment, which in general terms can include customers, clients and contractors. What is required in a given case depends on the official wording and guidance, so employers should check the current material.
5. Should I Contact Acas Before Making a Tribunal Claim?
For most claims, early conciliation through Acas is a step before a claim can go ahead, and the process can affect how the deadline is counted. Check the Acas site for the current rules and do not leave it until the last moment.
6. Does This Apply in Northern Ireland?
The Employment Rights Act applies to Great Britain, and Northern Ireland has separate employment law. Readers there should check with local bodies before relying on these dates.
