Employment Rights Act implementation: more clarity on timing, less clarity on tipping
The government has published an update on the implementation timeline for the reforms phasing in under the Employment Rights Act 2025. The changes clarify the timing of reforms scheduled for October 2026 implementation, which will now be coming into effect as follows:
- 1 October 2026: time limits for bringing claims in the Employment Tribunal to extend from three months to six months. You can read more about these changes here.
- 30 October 2026:
- Changes affecting trade union laws, including the duty to inform workers of their trade union rights and new trade union access rights. You can read more about the new access right here – final detail of the information duty remains to be confirmed.
- Changes to the legal framework relating to harassment, including the enhanced duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment (read more here) and the reintroduction of third-party harassment (read more here)
Changes to the law on tips allocation, which will introduce new requirements to consult with staff on tips allocation policies, were previously expected to come into force in October. However, that timing has slipped, with changes now expected to take effect “by the end of 2026”. At the same time, a draft Code of Practice on fair distribution of tips, updated to reflect the new consultation obligations, was withdrawn following strong trade union pushback. While the core terms of the consultation duty are set out in the Act and are therefore unlikely to change, the change in timing may signal a shift in the finer detail of the new tipping rules. If your business is likely to be affected, we suggest maintaining a watching brief for now. We will update you as more information becomes available.
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