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ARTICLE · 19 AUGUST 2026

Employment Rights Act 2025: Updated Implementation Timetable

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The Department for Business and Trade has released a comprehensive timeline detailing when key provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 will come into force, bringing significant changes to workplace rights, trade union powers, and employer obligations. From electronic balloting rights to extended tribunal time limits and strengthened harassment protections, these reforms will fundamentally reshape the employment landscape over the next two years.

United KingdomEmployment and HR
Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly
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The Department for Business and Trade has published an updated timeline confirming when the outstanding provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (the “Act”) and the wider Plan to Make Work Pay will take effect. The update gives employers and employees welcome certainty on several fronts, alongside a small number of delays.

31 August 2026: Electronic balloting

Trade unions will be permitted to use electronic and workplace balloting for statutory ballots from this date.

1 October 2026: Tribunal time limits

The time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims will double, from three months to six months.

30 October 2026: Harassment and trade union reforms

From this date, employers will be subject to a strengthened duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, together with a new obligation not to permit the harassment of employees by third parties. The same date brings a significant package of trade union reforms: a duty to inform

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