UK employers face an all reasonable steps harassment duty from 30 October, though the commencement order has not appeared
The UK government has fixed 30 October 2026 for the next tranche of Employment Rights Act 2025 duties. From that date the preventive duty on sexual harassment rises from taking “reasonable steps” to taking all reasonable steps, and employers become liable for third-party harassment of their workers by customers, clients, suppliers and members of the public. The third-party liability is not confined to sexual harassment: it extends to harassment related to protected characteristics. Independent trade unions also gain a statutory right of physical and digital workplace access, alongside new rights for union representatives and protection from detriment for taking industrial action.
One element expected on 30 October has moved. The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union has been delayed to 1 January 2027.
A caution on the date itself. As of 1 October no commencement instrument for 30 October had been published on legislation.gov.uk, where the most recent Employment Rights Act 2025 instrument remains SI 2026/954. The date comes from the government’s own business guidance and from Acas rather than from a made statutory instrument, and the Code of Practice on union access, laid in July, is still subject to parliamentary approval. Treat 30 October as announced rather than commenced.
Why this matters
The digital access right is the part that changes something for remote and hybrid workers. A statutory right of access that covers digital channels means unions can reach a workforce that never shares a building, which until now has been a practical reason remote teams were harder to organise. If you work remotely for a UK employer, expect union communications through work channels to become a normal thing rather than a contested one.
Third-party harassment liability also reaches further than an office. Harassment by a client on a video call, in a shared workspace channel, or in a customer-facing chat queue falls within the same duty, and the employer is the one who has to have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.
Context
The regulations defining what “all reasonable steps” actually means are not expected until 2027 or 2028, so for the first period employers will be applying a strengthened standard without a statutory definition of it. Tribunal claims arising from acts on or after 1 October now carry the six-month limit.
What to watch
Publication of the commencement instrument itself, and parliamentary approval of the union access Code of Practice. Until both land, 30 October is a plan rather than a date.