What is the current situation?
Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic (for example, age, sex, disability, race etc.) that has the purpose or effect of violating an individual's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
Sexual harassment fits the same definition as above but the unwanted conduct is of a sexual nature. It also covers less favourable treatment because a worker rejects or submits to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature.
Employers have long been liable for harassment if one of their employees harasses a colleague (in respect of any of the protected characteristics) in the course of their employment. Employers have a defence only if they can show they took ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent the employee from carrying out that harassment.
A new anticipatory duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment was introduced in October 2024. Since then, employers have been required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their workers in the course of their employment. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance includes examples of actions which might amount to ‘reasonable steps’. Failure to comply with the anticipatory duty can result in enforcement action by the EHRC, regardless of whether an individual brings a claim. In addition, employment tribunals can increase the compensation awarded by up to 25% where an individual brings a successful sexual harassment claim if the employer has not complied with its anticipatory duty.
Currently, employers are not generally liable for harassment if their workers are harassed by third parties, such as customers and clients. However, the position is slightly different for the anticipatory duty to prevent sexual harassment, as the EHRC guidance states that taking reasonable steps includes taking reasonable steps to prevent third-party harassment.
Currently ‘qualifying disclosures’ for whistleblowing purposes do not expressly include sexual harassment complaints.
So what’s changing and when?
The requirement in the anticipatory duty to prevent sexual harassment to take ‘reasonable steps’ will be amended so that employers must instead take all reasonable steps. This is expected to come into effect in October 2026.
Also expected in October 2026 is that employers will be held accountable if their employees are harassed by third parties in the course of employment and the employer cannot show that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment. This applies to every type of harassment, not just sexual harassment.
Regulations should in future (not before 2027) set out what an employer must do to qualify as having complied with their anticipatory duty to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. It remains to be seen how these steps will differ from the current recommendations in the EHRC guidance on sexual harassment at work.
It is also expected that from April 2026 sexual harassment will count explicitly as a ‘qualifying disclosure’ for whistleblowing purposes.
What you need to do
The timing of some of these actions will depend on when the detail of the new laws is finalised and when the changes come into force. However, you can start to plan now:
- Check your existing policies and arrangements, including workforce and manager training, to give you the best chance of avoiding – or, if not, defending – harassment claims under the existing legislation and of easing the transition to the new law.
- Examine your organisation’s culture. Is inappropriate conduct called out, or do workers fear reporting it because they think nothing will be done? Consider surveying workers to understand their view on workforce culture.
- Review how you handle sexual harassment complaints so they are dealt with appropriately and consistently across the organisation. Do you have a clear way for workers to report incidents to HR, or a whistleblowing hotline? Do the people likely to receive complaints know what to do?
- Ensure you have a sexual harassment risk assessment in place for all parts of your business.
- Consider the risk of third-party harassment. Which sectors of your workforce interact with third parties and in what circumstances? Have you previously had issues with sexual or other forms of harassment of your staff by third parties? Are there any measures which you could implement now to reduce the risk?
- Update policies (including your equality policy, anti-harassment and bullying policy, whistle blowing policy, grievance policy etc.) as well as your sexual harassment risk assessment and action plans.
How we can help
The Employment Rights Act raises the bar on preventing harassment at work. Employers will be expected to show they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent harassment, including from third parties, and to respond consistently when issues are raised.
Our HR and legal experts can help you move beyond policy compliance and embed practical approaches across your organisation. We can support you with:
- Policy and framework review: Reviewing and updating anti-harassment, bullying, equality, grievance and whistleblowing policies so they reflect new duties and expectations.
- Sexual harassment risk assessments: Supporting you to carry out and document sexual harassment risk assessments across different parts of your business, including third-party risk.
- Manager and workforce training: Helping managers understand their responsibilities, how to spot issues early, and how to respond appropriately when concerns are raised, complemented by CPD-accredited courses and our EDI video learning suites (available for internal hosting as refresher training with a 12-month guarantee from date of purchase).
- Reporting routes and investigation processes: Reviewing reporting mechanisms and complaint handling processes to ensure concerns are raised safely, handled consistently and escalated correctly.
- Culture and behaviour assessment: Helping you assess workplace culture through surveys, listening exercises and practical insight into potential areas of risk.
- Third-party harassment risk management: Advising on measures to reduce the risk of harassment by customers, clients or other third parties, and how to respond if incidents occur.
Additional support and resources
Stay informed and prepared by signing up to our email updates, where we’ll share confirmed changes and key dates as they come into force. Members can access up-to-date guidance, template policies and letters in our HR & Legal Resources section, and our expert team is on hand to answer questions or provide practical support, whether or not you are a Make UK member. You can also contact our ERA enquiry line.
To see the planned changes at a glance, download our free Employment Rights Act planner for clear timelines and practical next steps. If you’d like a deeper insight, ask about our Audit and Impact Assessment - a structured review to help you understand your levels of risk, prioritise actions and plan with confidence.