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Policy- GB
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT: OCTOBER IS THE NEXT BIG TEST
In previous editions, we have written about how HM Government will implement its Employment Rights Act that became law on 18 December 2025. In this new article, Stefan Mars, Head of Legal at Halborns, recaps recent developments and looks ahead to forthcoming provisions and implementation dates.
FIVE months on from the first major Employment Rights Act( ERA) reforms, some might be wondering what all the fuss was about. April came and went, businesses adapted, and operations continued.
But it should not create a false sense of security. For BMF members, October 2026 brings the next significant wave of change, with further reforms affecting everything from trade union engagement, restructuring, to workforce flexibility and Employment Tribunal risk.
The challenge is not preparing for everything at once- it is knowing what needs attention now, what needs watching and what can wait.
April was phase one. Has your business actually changed? April introduced several important changes. Statutory Sick Pay( SSP) became payable from day one, with the lower earnings threshold removed. Paternity and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights. Trade union recognition rules were simplified and disclosures about sexual harassment gained whistleblowing protection.
Employers also became responsible for retaining records demonstrating compliance with holiday entitlement and pay requirements for six years- while the new Fair Work Agency( FWA) arrived with extensive enforcement powers.
Five months later, employers should be testing whether those changes have embedded in their business.
Take SSP- for branch, warehouse, yard and manufacturing workforces, increased short-term absence can quickly affect resourcing, productivity and customer service. You should now have enough data to ask whether absence has increased, where the hotspots are and whether managers are addressing patterns consistently.
Likewise, could you produce compliant holiday records if asked? A current government consultation is considering how the FWA will enforce holiday pay, so the direction of travel is clear- compliance matters- but being able to prove it is coming under increasing scrutiny.
Restructuring became more expensive to get wrong This deserves particular attention given trading conditions in our supply chain.
Since April, the maximum protective award for failing to comply with collective redundancy consultation requirements has doubled from up to 90 to 180 days’ gross pay per affected employee.
Further reform is also on the way. Currently, collective consultation obligations are generally triggered where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less. The ERA proposes to introduce an organisation-wide threshold, with the Government consulting on how that should operate.
For multi-site businesses, that is significant. A restructuring spread across branches or locations which does not trigger collective consultation at individual establishments could potentially do so when redundancies are viewed across the organisation. The detail is not finalised, but BMF members contemplating restructuring should keep this firmly on their radar.
October: the next big deadline Three areas should be front of mind.
1. Employment Tribunal claims
From 01 October 2026, the limitation period for most Employment Tribunal claims increases from three months to six months.
Employees will have longer to consider claims and seek advice. Combined with extended ACAS Early Conciliation and existing tribunal delays, employers may find themselves defending decisions made many months previously.
That makes evidence preservation increasingly important. For a difficult dismissal, grievance, redundancy or discrimination issue, preserve documents and consider capturing witness evidence early. Managers leave. Memories fade. A thorough and robust evidence trail does not.
Taking a‘ glass half full’ view, a longer limitation period may create more opportunity to resolve disputes commercially before proceedings are issued.
2. Trade unions
Trade union reform is already underway. Recognition rules changed in April, and electronic and workplace balloting will be permitted from 25 August 2026.
Further significant reforms are expected during October 2026 including( a) stronger workplace access rights for unions;( b) new rights and protections for union representatives; and( c) a requirement to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. Workers will also receive greater protection against detriment for taking industrial action.
The impact across BMF members will not be uniform. Some larger manufacturers already have established union relationships- most merchants do not. For businesses without recognition, the response should not be to become“ anti-union”. Instead, ask whether employees already have an effective voice.
Do your employee forums achieve anything? Can colleagues raise concerns? Does leadership
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