But this is not the full story; there are also changes to right to work checks plus, for those who work in financial services, new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules both coming into effect this Autumn. All these changes will significantly impact litigation risk, workplace culture, employee relations issues, governance as well as industrial relations strategy.
I have been working with a number of different sector employers supporting them with strategic implementation advice, bespoke and “risk” focused training as well as updating contracts, policies and procedures. For HR leaders, the challenge is not simply understanding the legal changes; the question is: is your organisation operationally ready?
In this article, I look at the Autumn changes in high-level detail. As always, you should take specific advice.
New non-financial misconduct (NFM) rules (1 September 2026)
From 1 September 2026, the FCA is introducing new rules and detailed guidance making clear that serious behaviours such as bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, violence and other forms of NFM are regulatory issues, not just internal HR concerns. The changes are designed to strengthen culture, accountability and trust across the financial services sector. The rules and guidance mean that serious NFM may affect an individual’s fitness and propriety, lead to conduct rule breaches, and need to be considered as part of regulatory references and reporting obligations.
To get prepared, HR and compliance teams should be reviewing relevant internal documents including their conduct policies, speak-up and investigation procedures, fitness and propriety assessment processes, and regulatory reference practices. They should also ensure that managers and employees receive training on the new requirements and understand the behavioural standards expected of them, especially where such individuals are certified or authorised.
We covered this topic in our May webinar, A New Era of Accountability, but please contact our Regulatory Partner, Benedicte Perowne for more information and support or read her recent article, Non-Financial Misconduct: From Policy to Practice
A Longer Window for Employment Tribunal Claims (1 October 2026)
The time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months from 1 October 2026. At first glance, this may not appear to be such a huge change. But it is. This change – coupled with the extension of the Early Conciliation period to 12 weeks in December 2025, and delays in the Employment Tribunal system – will mean that the game of “will they, wont they” bring a claim will be even more uncertain.
On a positive note, yes, allowing a longer time for employees (and others) to issue Employment Tribunal claims might be a good thing. It gives parties longer to work things out internally, thereby avoiding litigation and reduces the risk that a filing deadline is missed. However, the longer filing time limit, 12-week Early Conciliation period plus general delays in the Employment Tribunal system could mean that employers may not know a claim has been issued for 12 (or more) months. This creates issues in terms of document/evidence retention, witness availability (a lot can happen in 12 months), as well as litigation strategy more generally.
What to do now:
- Review data protection and retention policies – do documents need to be kept for longer? If so, how does this impact internal policies, storage mechanisms and document retention?
- Ensure litigation support clauses are included in exit discussions and settlement agreements if it is likely you may need evidence from a former employee
- Reinforce expectations around notetaking, clear decision making and document management
- Consider litigation or case management processes more generally.
Expanding right to work check obligations (1 October 2026)
The UK’s right to work (RTW) regime will be significantly expanded meaning that employers can no longer rely on liability for non-compliance resting solely with direct employers, subcontractors or agencies. For those employers who engage workers, individual subcontractors or where there are complex labour supply chains, outsourcing arrangements or platform/gig-economy worker contracts, these changes will be of particular significance.
In practice, employers should:-
- Review internal recruitment processes
- Audit who works for them, how they are engaged and through whom
- Review commercial agreements with outsourced labour providers (such as agencies) to ensure that not only responsibility for undertaking the checks rests with them, but also the end user can ask to see evidence of those checks.
Failure to undertake correct RTW checks can lead to severe consequences for a business, including civil penalties, potential criminal liability, loss of sponsor licence and reputational damage.
Raising of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Bar (30 October 2026)
The positive and proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace (including from third parties) is changing. The compliance bar is rising from “reasonable” to “all reasonable” steps from 30 October. My advice: do not underestimate the significance of those three additional letters when it comes to compliance obligations and risk.
I have been working with a number of employers supporting them with their preventative duty obligations (as well as third-party preventative steps – see below) and for me the change places the spotlight firmly on culture, engagement and a need for employers to understand and focus on their individual risk profile. Yes, update policies, yes, revisit your risk assessments (key!), yes, encourage the development of a speak-up and active bystander culture; however, to meet expectations “talking the talk” is not enough, businesses need to “walk the walk” from the top down and the bottom up.
When the preventative duty first came in in October 2024, it shifted the employer mindset from being reactive to being proactive. Encouraging employers, with a 25% compensation uplift risk, to really focus on their risk profile and design well thought out systems of checks and balances which ensure, amongst other things, that employees feel safe to raise concerns, know how to and trust that they will be listened to. Also, it means having well-trained managers who understand the risks, can spot when something is wrong and know what to do to escalate concerns.
If the employer’s “defence” is, “we’ve taken all these positive steps after the complaint was raised” you have missed the point of the proactive and preventative duty.
This list of issues, questions as well as practical steps employers should be taking is too much for this article, so get in touch; however, taking all reasonable steps is not a “one size fits all” approach. Employers need to consider their size, sector, environment and key risk areas, together with the Equality and Human Rights Commission , Sexual harassment and harassment at work: technical guidance.
Questions to consider now:
- Is your culture open to challenge, are your managers leading by example, do they actively champion a zero-tolerance approach?
- Do you have open, clear reporting procedures (which include anonymous reporting)? Are staff empowered to raise concerns (whomever those concerns are from or are about)? Do managers know how to escalate concerns?
- Have you updated your risk assessment, relevant policies and processes? Are these widely communicated?
- Are managers confident handling disclosures? Are they trained on what sexual harassment at work is, as well as victimisation? Do they understand the preventative duty (plus third-party risks)? Is training effective and regularly refreshed?
- Can the business demonstrate that it learns from complaints and acts where necessary?
Third-Party Harassment (30 October 2026)
Whilst the raising of the liability bar in preventing workplace sexual harassment is significant and important, for me, the new obligation relating to harassment by third parties (which includes harassment related to a protected characteristic and sexual harassment) is going to have a huge impact, primarily because, in my opinion, employers have not focused on or understood this incoming change. Put simply: employers will be responsible for protecting employees from harassment at work by individuals outside of their workforce unless they can show that they have taken all reasonable preventative steps.
First issue: who are third parties? It will depend again on your individual assessment and risk profile but it will include customers, clients, contractors, visitors, suppliers, patients or service users – those individuals with whom your staff have daily or regular contact at work.
Next issue: how are your people interacting with third parties? This could be in the office, at networking events, client socials, meetings, conferences, dealing with visitors, delivery drivers, subcontractors on site, handling customers. Interactions could be in person, after “work”, online – the definition of “in the course of employment” can be very wide.
Next issue: what does this new preventative duty mean in practice? It means focusing on all of the internal, positive work you are doing around raising awareness, equality and diversity, training, policies, positive messaging, speak-up behaviours etc and translating this to third parties so that they know your behavioural expectations, they know your zero tolerance approach, they know the consequences of poor behaviour and they know that your staff are empowered to speak-up about it. This would involve internal work – risk assessments, training specifically on third-party risk and updating policies (see above points regarding the sexual harassment all reasonable steps preventative duty), but then widening this to demonstrate third parties knew the rules/risks. For some sectors, including retail, hospitality, healthcare, transport and customer service operations, the risk profile will be greater so preventative steps would, again, need to be specific and tailored.
For HR teams, the question to ask is: “if someone brought a claim for third-party harassment, what evidence do we have to show that we have taken all reasonable preventative steps?”
What should HR Teams be considering now?:
- Think about the roles, activities or workplace locations where third-party interactions are frequent and consider the key risk areas
- Revisit the “all reasonable” preventative sexual harassment steps and widen these to include third-party harassment risks – risk assessments, training, speak-up routes, policies and processes
- Ensure staff are empowered to raise concerns about third parties, and managers know what to do if something happens plus establish clear escalation procedures
- Review commercial terms, invites to events, visitor sign-ins, posters, communications – how clear is your zero tolerance approach?
My message to management and HR teams in relation to both sexual harassment and third- party harassment risks is the same: this is not an “HR thing” but an issue of culture, engagement, employee experience and management (and Board) responsibility.
(more) Trade Union Reforms (30 October 2026)
For many employers the thought of Trade Union involvement in your business seems distant; however, from 30 October 2026 a package of Trade Union reforms is being brought in which could change that. A new duty to inform workers of their right to join a Trade Union, enhanced rights of access for Trade Unions and additional protections related to recognition processes, Trade Union representatives and for those taking part in industrial action move the goalposts in terms of Trade Union rights. For employers with well-established collective bargaining agreements or practices, you may need to update existing practices. However, for employers without a recognised union, the reforms may increase union engagement activity and place greater importance on giving your employees a voice or a say in the way the business is run.
One of the most significant reforms is the strengthening of Trade Unions’ ability to have access to workers. Although the practical detail will continue to evolve, employers should begin preparing now. I would say that the risk of Trade Union activity is more likely for larger employers with multisite operations or where there is a mix of manufacturing and retail. We have written a long article, Employers Beware: New Trade Union Access Rights from October 2026; however, briefly, the right is for independent Trade Unions to be able to have access, both physically and digitally, to meet workers, recruit and organise members, provide support and representation, and facilitate collective bargaining. Employers will need a process for responding to union access requests within prescribed timescales and may need to facilitate access to workplace premises, online platforms or communication channels. Further guidance can be found in the Code of practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces (currently in draft). Refusal is expected to be limited to specific circumstances, with disputes ultimately capable of being determined by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). The potential consequences of non-compliance are significant. The CAC will have powers to enforce access agreements and impose financial penalties of up to £500,000 where employers breach their obligations.
Employers should therefore:
- Review their employee relations strategy – should the employer strengthen relations with current Trade Unions or consider setting up an internal employee forum?
- Train managers on handling union access requests
- Consider how access requests should be handled
- Ensure clear governance arrangements are in place before the new rights take effect
“In all challenge comes opportunity”
There is much to do; however, those employers (and their HR teams and managers) who engage early and focus on implementation timetables, policies, processes, governance as well as training, will find themselves in a much better position when it comes to business readiness. Given the implementation dates and the notification the Government has given in terms of timetabling, saying things are a “work in progress” is unlikely to hold much sway with an Employment Tribunal.
The next few months present an opportunity to audit, plan and train. Audit who works for you, how, and for how long. Plan an implementation timetable, look ahead at the changes with our Employment Law Guide 2026 (especially changes to unfair dismissal laws) and ask, “are there steps we should be taking now?”. Train managers and employees on key obligations and risk areas, equip managers with the knowledge, confidence and tools needed to navigate the changing landscape.
A challenge yes, but this is an HR and training opportunity not to be missed.
Visit the UK government website to read the government’s updated implementation timeline, Implementing the Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act.