A quarterly column by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) on the people issues shaping UK workplaces.
It may feel like HR professionals have only just caught their breath after April’s wave of changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025, but now is not the time to move on to other priorities.
October will see the next phase of measures under the Act coming into force, including a new independent right for trade unions to access workplaces and tougher obligations on employers to protect employees from harassment.
For senior HR leaders, this isn’t just another compliance exercise. It’s a shift that will shape employee relations, workplace culture and their organisations’ approach to risk. Those who act early will be in a far stronger position to respond with confidence.
So what do these changes mean in practice? And what should HR professionals be doing now to prepare?
Trade union access rights
The Act is transforming many aspects of the trade union landscape, including unions’ relationships with employers and the ease of access they’re given to potential members. From October 2026, for the first time, trade unions will have the right to access employees in their workplace regardless of whether they have any members within the workforce.
This isn’t a right to organise industrial action when they want it, but it does enable unions to access the workforce with a view to recruiting or organising workers or facilitating collective bargaining. This could potentially lead to an increase in union membership. There will be a tight timetable for employers to respond to access requests – 15 days to respond to a request followed by a 25-day negotiation period – after which the application may end up with the Central Arbitration Committee. However, the final details are still to be confirmed as the government is yet to publish its code of practice.
Employers need to be proactive in preparing for this change. Don’t assume that your organisation won’t be approached by a union. Now is the time to consider which unions might be most aligned with your workforce and approach them to see if they would like to work with you, as building a respectful working relationship at an early stage could help avoid disputes.
Don’t be scared by this change. Ultimately, the reps you will be dealing with will be people already working for you. Handled well, this represents an opportunity to build positively on workplace culture.
Right to join a trade union
A small but potentially significant change is that employers will have a duty to inform their employees of their right to join a trade union. The details around how this will need to be communicated to both new starters and existing employees, including the frequency and the form the notifications will need to take, are anticipated soon.
Now is a good time to make sure anyone involved in onboarding or employee communications is aware that this change is coming, and audit any existing documentation to see where updates need to be made when the final details are available.
Duty to prevent third-party harassment
Also coming in October is a new duty on employers to prevent harassment of employees by third parties. Industries such as hospitality, where employees are regularly in contact with the public, are often mentioned as being most affected by this new duty. But in most businesses, employees will have some contact with third parties such as customers, contractors and consultants.
As a priority, organisations should audit their relationships with third parties and risk assess extensively. They should consider how they can proactively prevent harassment – for example with reciprocal contract clauses or using signage or other measures where there’s no contractual relationship.
It’s also worth considering how to communicate this new duty to employees and help them feel empowered to deal with third-party harassment they experience or witness. Having clear reporting channels and robust procedures for dealing with harassment will be part of this. It may also mean adjusting messaging – for example, is the customer always right?
‘All’ reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment
Although not a new duty as such, the Act upgrades the duty to take steps to prevent sexual harassment to “all” reasonable steps. It’s anticipated that the government will bring in regulations outlining what all reasonable steps might be. For now, it’s worth looking at steps recommended by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
As with the new duty to prevent third-party harassment, auditing and risk assessment will be key here. Routinely updating the risk assessment and keeping up to date with the Commission’s guidance – and acting on anything that has changed – will be vital. Employees should also undergo regular training so they understand what sexual harassment is and their role in preventing and addressing it.
October’s changes are by no means the endpoint, as further reforms are expected in January and into 2027. Employers who take a proactive, strategic approach to preparing for these now will be better placed to manage risk, build trust and stay ahead of an evolving employment landscape.
Sally Sellwood
Sally advises on employment law across the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s public policy and knowledge content work, helping to promote better work and support HR professionals in applying good practice.
A qualified solicitor, she previously worked in government employment litigation and as an employment lawyer for Vodafone UK. She has also run a legal content marketing business and held a combined marketing manager and HR business partner role in a fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprise.
