Hiring Christmas Casuals? What the Employment Rights Act Changes in October

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims doubles from three months to six — the first of the Employment Rights Act’s autumn changes to land, according to employment lawyers at Lewis Silkin and Davidson Morris, whose timelines we draw on here. If you are about to hire Christmas casuals, this autumn’s rules deserve ten minutes of your attention now, not in December.

First, the practical meaning of that tribunal change: a dispute from this year’s festive season can now surface up to half a year later — well after a casual has left, memories have faded and, in too many kitchens, the paperwork has been binned. The defence is boring and cheap: keep rotas, hours records, contracts and any disciplinary notes filed and retrievable for every hire.

30 October: the harassment duty gets real teeth

From 30 October 2026, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of staff — a deliberate strengthening of the existing “reasonable steps” duty — and become liable for harassment of staff by third parties, such as customers, unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. For a pub or restaurant in December, that word “customers” should ring loudly: festive party season is exactly when front-of-house staff face the worst behaviour. Written policy, staff briefing, a clear incident procedure and a manager empowered to act on the night are the sensible minimum. The same date also brings new trade union rights, including workplace access for recruitment and organising.

What is NOT changing yet

The zero-hours reforms — guaranteed-hours offers reflecting hours actually worked, reasonable notice of shifts, and compensation for shifts cancelled or moved at short notice — are confirmed but not due until 2027. The government’s consultation on how they will work closed on 25 August 2026, with regulations to follow. They will hit hospitality hardest: ONS-based analysis puts around 27% of Britain’s zero-hours workers in accommodation and food service, the highest share of any sector. Restrictions on fire-and-rehire, originally pencilled for October, have slipped to January 2027. So this Christmas you can still run flexible casual rotas broadly as before — but next Christmas you almost certainly cannot, and the shift-notice habits you build now will be the compliance system you rely on then.

Craven’s verdict

The genuinely useful reading: October’s changes are about records and behaviour, not rotas — get your filing and your harassment procedure straight and you are largely there, while the rota-changing rules give you a year’s notice. The caution: several of these dates have already moved once, and some detail still depends on regulations yet to be published, so check again close to each deadline. This is not legal advice; take proper advice from an employment solicitor or your HR adviser before acting. Meanwhile, if the kit side of your Christmas planning needs the same attention as the rota, that part we can help with directly.

The stunt — The December Paperwork Drill: Pull last December’s rota and test it against the future rules: could you show how much notice each shift was given? How many shifts were cancelled or moved late — and could you list them? Could you find every casual’s contract in five minutes? Whatever fails the test is your to-do list before the 2027 regime arrives, and fixing it costs nothing but admin time.

Sources: Lewis Silkin — What’s in the Employment Rights Act (implementation timetable) · Davidson Morris — Employment Rights Act timeline · GOV.UK — zero-hours contracts reform consultation