Executive HR

From 30 October 2026, employers will have greater responsibilities to prevent harassment in the workplace.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens the existing duty to prevent sexual harassment and introduces new protection against harassment by third parties, including customers, clients, contractors and members of the public.

For employers, this is a timely opportunity to review workplace policies, training, reporting procedures and risk assessments.

What is changing?

Employers already have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work.
From 30 October 2026, this will become a duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees.

The Act will also introduce a new duty preventing employers from permitting third parties to harass employees where the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Third parties could include:

• Customers
• Clients
• Contractors
• Suppliers
• Service users
• Visitors
• Members of the public

The new protection covers harassment under the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment and harassment relating to protected characteristics such as race, disability, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, and age.

What does “all reasonable steps” mean?

There is no single checklist that will apply to every organisation. What is considered reasonable will depend on factors such as:

• The size and nature of the organisation
• The industry in which it operates
• The level of contact employees have with customers or the public
• Previous complaints or incidents
• The risks associated with particular roles or locations
• The effectiveness of existing policies and training

Employers should be able to show that they have considered the risks and taken practical steps to reduce them.

This may include:

• Reviewing harassment and dignity at work policies
• Carrying out a workplace harassment risk assessment
• Providing regular training for employees and managers
• Making reporting routes clear and accessible
• Explaining how complaints will be handled
• Setting expectations for customers, clients and contractors
• Taking action when inappropriate behaviour occurs
• Recording incidents and reviewing patterns
• Protecting employees from retaliation after raising concerns

A policy sitting in an employee handbook is unlikely to be enough if employees do not understand it, managers do not know how to apply it or complaints are not dealt with properly.

Why should employers review their policies now?

Many workplace policies are written once and then left unchanged for years. They may not reflect how people work today, particularly when organisations have:

• Hybrid or remote working arrangements
• Customer-facing roles
• Lone workers
• Messaging platforms and social media
• Work-related events and social activities
• Employees working in public-facing environments
• Regular contact with customers, clients or service users

The forthcoming legal changes provide a useful reason to check whether your policies reflect the real risks faced by your employees.

Employers should ask themselves:
1. Do employees know how to report harassment?
2. Do managers know what to do when a concern is raised?
3. Does the policy cover harassment by customers, clients and other third parties?
4. Have workplace-specific risks been assessed?
5. Is training relevant, regular and recorded?
6. Are complaints investigated promptly and fairly?
7. Can the organisation demonstrate the preventative steps it has taken?

What could happen if employers do nothing?

Failing to take appropriate preventative action can increase the risk of complaints, employment tribunal claims, reputational damage, employee absence and loss of trust.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission may also take enforcement action where an employer fails to comply with the preventative duty relating to sexual harassment.

The best approach is to treat harassment prevention as an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-off policy exercise.

What should employers do before 30 October 2026?

Employers should consider taking the following steps:

• Review existing harassment, equality and dignity at work policies
• Make sure third-party harassment is clearly covered
• Check reporting and investigation procedures
• Carry out or refresh a harassment risk assessment
• Train managers and employees
• Communicate expected standards of behaviour to clients, customers and contractors
• Keep clear records of training, reports, investigations and actions taken
• Schedule regular reviews of workplace arrangements

Updating your policies now gives your organisation time to identify gaps, involve managers, and communicate any changes properly.

Though our sister company Thrive HRM, we can help employers review and update their workplace policies, strengthen reporting procedures and develop a practical approach to preventing harassment.

Visit thrivehrm.co.uk to find out how we can help.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Employers should seek appropriate legal or HR advice about how the legislation applies to their organisation.