Are you ready for October’s trade union access rights?

If you’ve never had to deal with a trade union, October might change that.

From 1 October 2026, every employer in England, Wales and Scotland must give workers a written statement telling them that they have the right to join a trade union. That applies regardless of size or sector.

And, if you have 21 or more workers, there’s a second obligation. Trade unions will have a new statutory right to request access to your workplace, physically or digitally, to meet, recruit and organise your staff.

If a union makes a formal request, you have 5 working days to respond. Then a 15-working-day window to negotiate terms. If you can’t agree, the Central Arbitration Committee decides for you. Breach an access order and fines can reach £500,000.

Until now, employers have broadly controlled whether unions could enter the workplace. From October, a union doesn’t need your permission. It just needs to follow the process.

There are a few things worth doing now.

Review your onboarding documents and build in the written statement about union rights. Think about how you’d handle an access request if one arrived next month. And make sure that your managers know what’s coming so they can respond calmly.

If you’d like help with preparing for these changes ahead of October, get in touch.

Acas survey reveals which ERA changes employers are finding the hardest

A new Acas/YouGov survey of over 1,000 employers has found that day-one statutory sick pay (30%), day-one paternity leave (27%) and the reduced unfair dismissal qualifying period (23%) are the Employment Rights Act changes that businesses expect to find the hardest to adopt.

Flexible working and trade union recognition were close behind at 21% each.

The survey was conducted in late April and early May 2026, which means that many of these changes were already in force when employers said that they were still struggling with them.

Acas has updated its guidance on probation periods and unfair dismissal to reflect the new rules. If you haven’t reviewed your processes against that guidance yet, now is the time.

Employee dismissed over Facebook posts wins unfair dismissal claim

A warehouse worker who posted the details of a workplace grievance on Facebook was dismissed for gross misconduct. A tribunal found that the dismissal was unfair.

Why? The employer (DHL) hadn’t sent the employee a copy of its social media policy, hadn’t given him any guidance on online conduct and hadn’t even asked him to take the post down before moving to dismiss. There was also little evidence that the posts had caused any real harm to the business.

The tribunal ordered reinstatement.

There’s a straightforward lesson here for business owners. If you have a social media policy, make sure that your staff have actually received it. And, if an employee does something you don’t like online, the first step is a conversation, not a dismissal letter.

The government’s Keep Britain Working review and what it means for employers

The government’s Keep Britain Working review is developing a new employer-facing standard for managing workplace health, sickness absence and disability inclusion. For small businesses, this signals a clear direction of travel: the government expects employers to play a bigger, more structured role in managing health at work.

The numbers behind it are sobering. 2.8 million people are currently economically inactive due to health conditions. Sickness absence is at a 15-year high. And employers lose an estimated £120 per day for every employee off sick.

The review found that 93% of fit notes are marked “not fit for work” and is exploring replacing the current system with collaborative stay-in-work and return-to-work plans involving employers, employees and health providers. Fit note reform pilots launched in May 2026 and a draft employer standard is expected by the end of the year.

Getting your absence management processes in order now puts you ahead of where this is going.

The tribunal time limit has doubled

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for most employment tribunal claims doubles from three to six months.

The three-month window that existed before worked in employers’ favour. Three months passes quickly and often employees simply ran out of time to lodge a complaint.

With the new change, employees have more time to reflect, take advice and build a stronger case. And, with the Acas early conciliation period already extended to 12 weeks, a workplace dispute could stay live for the best part of nine months before you even see a claim.

The new limit applies to any dismissal or workplace incident on or after 1 October 2026. Anything before that date still falls under the old three-month rule.

Every conversation you don’t document, every process you cut short and every dismissal you handle loosely now carries risk for twice as long. If your processes and documentation aren’t where they need to be, now is the time to tighten things up.

If you’d like help with reviewing how you handle dismissals and workplace issues so you’re not exposed by the rule change, reach out and we’ll be happy to walk you through things.

Q&A