October employment law changes: not ready? Start here

By Sarah Buxton

October’s employment law changes are adding to an already busy workload. Sarah Buxton explains how practice owners and managers can identify their priorities and take action with the right support.

If you’re running a business and feeling as though there is always something else you should be doing, you’re not alone.

As a business owner myself, I understand the pressure that comes with trying to lead well while keeping everything moving. There are clients to look after, people to support, decisions to make and plans to deliver, often while another change, challenge or new responsibility is landing on your desk.

And then, of course, there is employment law.

Just when you think you have got your head around it, someone goes and changes it. I sometimes think the only employment law that never changes is the law that employment law will always change!

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is a good example. Some significant changes have already arrived, including Statutory Sick Pay from the first day of sickness absence and day one rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave. This month brings another set of changes to work through. The time limit for most Employment Tribunal claims has increased from three months to six months, with strengthened duties around sexual harassment taking effect later in October. Then, from January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is due to reduce from two years to six months.

For employers, that can feel like a lot. Because it is.

So, where do you start?

When time and headspace are limited, the temptation can be to put everything off until you have time to tackle it properly. As business owners, though, we both know how that story ends. That mythical quiet week in the diary never actually arrives.

Good leadership does not mean doing everything at once. It means understanding what matters most and taking the next sensible step.

Start with your people.

With October’s changes in mind, would your team know how to raise a harassment concern? Would your managers know how to respond? And are you recording the decisions and actions you take, so you can explain what happened if a concern arises later?

Ask yourself what is having the biggest impact on your people right now. Are your managers confident handling difficult conversations? Are your contracts and policies up to date? Are your processes actually followed in practice, or are they sitting beautifully in a folder that nobody has opened since 2022?

Listen to what your team is telling you. Where are the frustrations? Where is there uncertainty? What keeps coming up?

Recognise change fatigue

There is another side to all this. Your people may be just as tired of change as you are.

Even positive change takes energy. As leaders, we can become so focused on what needs implementing that we forget how much change people are already carrying.

The answer is not to stand still. It is to lead change thoughtfully. Explain what is happening, why it matters and what it means for your people. Give managers the confidence and tools to have those conversations.

And importantly, prioritise.

You may not need to rewrite everything, but you do need to identify what October’s changes require of your business. Look at what is changing, where your biggest risks or gaps are and work through them in a sensible order.

Leadership is rarely about having the perfect plan. More often, it is about being prepared to take action when you do not have unlimited time, unlimited resources or all the answers.

So, if the employment law changes are sitting somewhere on your list alongside everything else involved in running a business, do not panic.

Start somewhere.

One conversation. One policy. One priority.

You don’t have to work through this alone

Our Oracle HR & Employment Law Service offers practical HR guidance backed by employment law, from people who understand dentistry. We can help you prioritise October’s changes and put the right measures in place.

Let’s have a chat about what your practice needs. Call 0330 088 2275 or email info@buxtoncoates.com.