October brought several important employment law changes, with new responsibilities for employers around right to work checks, trade union access, and preventing sexual and third party harassment in the workplace
For businesses, understanding the changes is only the first step. Employers also need to review their existing policies, procedures, and working practices to make sure they’re meeting their responsibilities.
Some of these changes will require businesses to look beyond their current HR processes, particularly when it comes to contractors, third parties, and preventing harassment before it happens.
Here’s a breakdown of the four key changes highlighted in our October employment law update, along with the practical steps employers should be taking.
1. Right to work checks: Changes from 1st October 2026
Right to work checks are an established part of recruitment, but the scope of these checks has been extended.
Previously, employers may have focused primarily on checking the right to work of directly employed staff. The changes extend the requirements to people engaged under a worker’s contract, individual subcontractors, and relevant online matching-service arrangements.
Liability may also arise further along the contracting chain, making it important for businesses to understand how people are engaged to carry out work on their behalf.
Genuinely self-employed individuals are not within the scope of these extended requirements.
What should employers be doing?
Businesses should start by reviewing their workforce and supply chain to identify everyone who may fall within the scope of the requirements. This includes employees, casual workers, personal-service workers, subcontractors, and labour supplied by third parties.
Employers should also:
- Review their right to work checking procedures. Make sure the correct checks are completed before work begins, using manual document checks, the Home Office online service, or an approved digital verification route, as appropriate.
- Keep accurate records. Retain dated evidence securely, ideally through a digital HR system where one is available. Schedule follow-up checks for individuals with time-limited permission and use the Employer Checking Service where appropriate.
- Clarify responsibilities with suppliers. Make sure contracts clearly establish who is responsible for completing checks and what assurance is required.
- Train hiring managers. Anyone involved in recruitment or engaging workers should understand when checks are required and how to complete them correctly.
Businesses should also refer to the relevant guidance and checking procedures to make sure they’re following the correct process.
The important point is that right to work compliance should not be considered solely in relation to permanent employees. Employers need a clear understanding of who is working within their business and the arrangements under which they have been engaged.
2. Trade union workplace access: Changes from 30th October 2026
New rules have introduced a statutory framework allowing independent trade unions to request access to workplaces with 21 or more employees.
Access can be physical or digital and may be requested for purposes including recruitment, representation, and supporting workers.
Importantly, the arrangements can apply even where an employer does not currently recognise a trade union.
Requests and access arrangements are subject to formal procedures, with oversight from the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).
What should employers be doing?
Even businesses that have not previously dealt with trade union access requests should understand how the new process works.
Employers should:
- Nominate a point of contact. Identify who will receive, review, and record requests, and establish whether the organisation meets the relevant employee threshold.
- Understand the timescales. A valid request should receive a written response within 15 working days, followed by a 25-working-day negotiation window.
- Consider how access would work in practice. Think about appropriate times, locations, digital channels, confidentiality, security, health and safety, and potential disruption to operations.
- Keep clear records. Document proposals, discussions, and agreements, and seek advice promptly where a request is disputed or referred to the CAC.
- Brief managers. Make sure managers understand the changes and know how to respond if employees raise questions about trade union access.
Having a process in place before a request arrives will help businesses respond appropriately and within the required timescales.
3. Preventing sexual harassment: Stronger duties from 30th October 2026
Employers have had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees since October 2024.
From 30 October 2026, this duty has been strengthened. Employers must now take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
This is an important distinction.
Having an anti-harassment policy is not enough on its own. Employers need to demonstrate that they are actively identifying risks, taking proportionate preventative measures, and reviewing whether those measures are effective.
The steps required will depend on the circumstances of the business, but prevention needs to be an ongoing part of workplace management rather than a one-off exercise.
What should employers be doing?
A good starting point is to review the risks that exist within the organisation.
Employers should:
- Complete and document a sexual harassment risk assessment. Consider factors such as power imbalances, lone working, business travel, workplace social events, and online communications.
- Review policies and procedures. Make sure reporting routes, confidentiality safeguards, and investigation arrangements are clear and accessible.
- Provide appropriate training. Employees should understand expected standards of behaviour, while managers need additional guidance on recognising concerns and responding appropriately. Keep records of training and refreshers.
- Offer safe ways to raise concerns. Employees should have more than one reporting route, and complaints must be investigated promptly, consistently, and without victimisation.
- Monitor and review preventative measures. Use incident records, employee feedback, and regular reviews to identify improvements and retain evidence of the action taken.
For employers, the focus should be on preventing harassment wherever reasonably possible, rather than simply responding after an incident has occurred.
That means looking at the realities of how people work, identifying where problems could arise, and making sure employees feel able to speak up.
4. Third-party harassment: New responsibilities from 30th October 2026
The final change strengthens protection for employees who experience harassment from people outside their organisation.
This includes customers, clients, patients, visitors, and contractors.
Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment by third parties. The protections cover sexual harassment and harassment related to protected characteristics within the harassment provisions of the Equality Act 2010.
Whether an employer is liable will depend on the circumstances, including whether they failed to take all reasonable preventative steps.
This is particularly relevant to businesses where employees regularly interact with members of the public, clients, suppliers, or other external contacts.
What should employers be doing?
Businesses should consider where employees may be exposed to inappropriate behaviour from third parties and what can reasonably be done to protect them.
Practical actions include:
- Assess the risks. Identify roles with regular third-party contact, consider the likelihood and impact of harassment, and complete a documented third-party harassment risk assessment.
- Set clear behavioural expectations. Communicate that harassment will not be tolerated through appropriate notices, contracts, and induction processes.
- Make reporting straightforward. Employees should know how to report incidents, where to get immediate support, and how concerns will be escalated.
- Prepare managers to respond. Managers should understand when it may be appropriate to challenge behaviour, restrict access, or consider ending a commercial relationship.
- Record incidents and review controls. Monitor patterns, act on repeated concerns, and make sure employees are not penalised for reporting harassment.
The key message for employers is that inappropriate behaviour should not be dismissed simply because it comes from a customer, client, or another external contact.
Businesses need to take concerns seriously and demonstrate that reasonable preventative measures are in place.
What should employers prioritise following the October changes?
Although these four changes cover different areas of employment law, there are some common themes.
Review your existing processes. Check whether your recruitment, contractor management, trade union access, and harassment prevention arrangements reflect the new requirements.
Make sure responsibilities are clear. Whether it’s completing right to work checks, handling a union access request, or responding to harassment, managers need to understand what is expected of them.
Keep appropriate records. Policies, risk assessments, training records, checking evidence, and incident reports can all help demonstrate the steps your business has taken.
Don’t wait for a problem to arise. A proactive review is far easier to manage than discovering a gap in your procedures during a dispute, complaint, or compliance issue.
For many employers, the changes won’t necessarily mean starting from scratch. However, they do make it important to check that existing policies and practices are sufficiently robust, understood by managers, and followed consistently.
Need help reviewing your HR policies and procedures?
Keeping up with employment law changes can be challenging, particularly when you’re also managing the day-to-day demands of running a business.
At Oculus HR, we help employers understand their responsibilities and put practical, proportionate measures in place.
Whether you need support reviewing your right to work procedures, updating workplace policies, completing harassment risk assessments, or training your managers, our team is here to help.
Get in touch with Oculus HR to discuss what the October changes mean for your business.
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