October 2026 and January 2027 are major months for reforms under the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025, with a number of key changes coming into effect. In this article, we outline the relevant implementation dates and the key checks for employers to consider now.

1 October 2026: time limits increased from three to six months

While the increase in Employment Tribunal time limits is already in force, it will take some time for employers to feel the full impact of the change. For example, an employee dismissed on 1 October 2026 will now have until 31 March 2027 to bring a claim (not taking into account the effect of Acas early conciliation).

In the meantime, employers should consider:

• The extension to the time limit will operate in the general context of the Employment Tribunal backlog, where there is currently a lengthy delay between a claim's commencement and the ultimate listing of a hearing date. Longer time limits will add to the length of the wait to final hearing.
• This delay increases the significance of document retention practices and contemporaneous record keeping, for instance, by capturing witness recollections or decision-makers' thought processes.

30 October 2026: harassment reforms

From 30 October 2026, employers will be required to take 'all reasonable steps' to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. We discuss this in our previous update on the duty to prevent sexual harassment at work and as part of our webinar series on the ERA.

Employers will...

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