Employment Rights Act 2025: harassment and trade union provisions in force 30 October 2026
S.I. 2026/1065 brings sections 20, 21, 22, 56 and Schedule 5, 59, 60 and Schedule 6, 64 and 65 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 into force on 30 October 2026 (sections 59, 60, 64 and 65 so far as not already in force), including the duty to take 'all reasonable steps' to prevent sexual harassment and a new provision on harassment by third parties.
Who is affected: Employers and employees; trade unions, trade union officials, learning representatives and equality representatives; seafarers
Status: Partially in force โ
Some sections are in force; others await a commencement order. Check the section before relying on it.
What Changed
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/1065, 2026 No. 1065 (C. 87)) were made on 1 October 2026. Regulation 3 provides that the following provisions of the Act come into force on 30 October 2026: section 20 (employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment); section 21 (harassment by third parties); section 22 (sexual harassment: power to make provision about 'reasonable steps'); section 56 and Schedule 5 (seafarers' wages and working conditions); section 59 (right of trade unions to access workplaces), so far as not already in force; section 60 and Schedule 6 (trade union recognition), so far as not already in force; section 64 (facilities provided to trade union officials and learning representatives), so far as not already in force; and section 65 (facilities for equality representatives), so far as not already in force. Section 20 inserts 'all' before 'reasonable steps' in section 40A(1) of the Equality Act 2010. Section 21 inserts new subsections (1A) to (1C) into section 40 of the Equality Act 2010, under which an employer must not permit a third party to harass a person who is an employee of the employer. New subsection (1B) provides that the employer permits that harassment 'only if' the third party harasses the employee in the course of the employee's employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so. Sections 20, 21, 22, 59, 60, 64 and 65 extend to England, Wales and Scotland; section 56 extends to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Section 22 inserts section 40B into the Equality Act 2010, a power to make regulations specifying steps that are to be regarded as reasonable. These Regulations do not commence section 25 (unfair dismissal: qualifying period), which remains governed by S.I. 2026/559.
What To Do
Check which of the commenced provisions apply to you before 30 October 2026, and read the Regulations themselves: they carry transitional and saving provisions that change how some sections take effect. Regulation 4 contains transitional provision for Schedule 6 and regulations 5 and 6 contain savings; regulation 7 provides that the amendments made by section 64 do not apply to an employment tribunal claim brought under section 168(4)(a) or section 168A(9)(a) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, in respect of a failure to permit an employee to take time off, where the date of the failure occurs before 30 October 2026; and regulation 8 contains transitional provision for section 65. Section 60 and Schedule 6, and sections 59, 64 and 65, are commenced only so far as not already in force, so check the earlier commencement regulations noted in the Regulations for provisions already commenced.