Employment Rights Act: what changed in October and what's to come

October brought the next wave of Employment Rights Act 2025 changes, and two of them will matter to most scaffolding employers. More follows in January.

From 1 October: twice as long to bring a claim

Employment tribunal time limits have doubled. Most claims now carry a six month limit rather than three.

The extension applies only where the act or failure in question happened on or after 1 October, so it is not retrospective. But from here on, a dispute you thought had gone quiet has twice as long to reappear. The practical consequence is about record keeping. If claims can stay live for six months, your documentation needs to survive that long in a usable state.

From 30 October: a higher bar on harassment

The standard employers must meet has risen from taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees to taking all reasonable steps. Where a tribunal finds that duty was breached in a successful claim, compensation can be increased by up to 25%.

Alongside it comes the change our members should look at hardest: employers are now liable for harassment of their employees by third parties, unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Two things make that significant for scaffolding.

First, it is not limited to sexual harassment. It covers harassment connected to any protected characteristic.

Second, a single incident can be enough. The test is not how often something happened, it is what you did to prevent it.

Scaffolding operatives spend their working lives on other people’s sites, alongside other trades, principal contractors and clients. Those are exactly the third parties the duty has in mind, and the fact that the conduct came from someone who is not on your payroll is no longer the end of the matter.

In practical terms that means including third party risk in your workplace risk assessments, making sure your reporting routes cover conduct by people outside the business, and considering whether your contracts set expectations with the firms you work alongside.

From 30 October: trade union access

The remaining trade union reforms also took effect at the end of October.

Unions now have statutory rights of access to workplaces for recruitment, organising and collective bargaining, which can include digital access, following a statutory process. Where access arrangements cannot be agreed, a union can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee, which can order access and impose financial penalties for non-compliance.

This applies to employers who do not currently recognise a union. If a request arrives, it is worth knowing in advance who in your business handles it and what the statutory framework requires, rather than working it out under time pressure.

Other changes include a duty to inform workers of their right to join a union, new protections for union representatives, restrictions on employer conduct once the Central Arbitration Committee has accepted a recognition request, and protection for workers against detriment short of dismissal for taking part in industrial action.

Coming in January 2027

The change with the widest reach is still ahead. From January, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal is expected to reduce to six months, and the cap on compensatory awards is expected to be removed. Restrictions on fire and rehire are also expected.

For any employer, a shorter qualifying period changes how much process a dismissal needs. It is worth looking at your procedures before it arrives rather than after.

Further ahead in 2027

Measures still working through include regulation of umbrella companies, restrictions on zero hours contracts, flexible working reforms, changes to collective consultation thresholds, expanded bereavement leave, enhanced protections for pregnant women and new mothers, and mandatory gender equality and menopause action plans. Regulations setting out what counts as reasonable steps on harassment are expected in 2027 or 2028.

A free guide for members

Citation, NASC’s Services and Ancillary Products Manager, has produced a free guide covering what has already been implemented, what changed in October, and what is still to come, together with what businesses need in place to stay compliant.

Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/bdzbdf8e

Citation’s HR and employment law specialists support thousands of UK businesses. NASC members can access preferential rates on a new client contract by calling 0345 844 1111 or visiting citation.co.uk, quoting National Access and Scaffolding Confederation.