Employers will face a stronger legal duty to prevent sexual harassment from 30 October 2026, with liability for third-party harassment also being introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
The change raises the standard from taking “reasonable steps” to taking “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment. Employers may also be liable where a customer, client, patient, contractor or other third party harasses a worker and the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.
The third-party protection applies more widely than sexual harassment, covering harassment connected with protected characteristics including age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
Detailed regulations will follow later
Although the stronger duties begin on 30 October, regulations that could set out steps employers may be expected to take are intended to follow later. The legislation gives the Government power to specify measures such as risk assessments, policies, reporting arrangements and complaint-handling procedures.
Acas guidance already advises employers to assess relevant risks, take proportionate preventive action, train staff and make reporting arrangements clear. What is reasonable will depend on an organisation’s size, sector, resources and the risks its workers face.
“The absence of detailed regulations is not a reason to delay. Employers should start preparing now rather than waiting for further guidance.”
Risk assessments and third-party behaviour
Elaine Huttley, National Head of Employment Law at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Employers face a significantly more demanding legal standard from 30 October, but the more detailed regulatory framework intended to help define the steps they may need to take will come later.
“Businesses are not entirely without direction. Acas has published practical advice and existing EHRC guidance contains useful principles on preventing sexual harassment. However, employers must now apply those principles to an expanded duty and a much wider range of third-party behaviour.
“The challenge is that what amounts to ‘all reasonable steps’ will depend heavily on the organisation. A hotel, retailer, hospital or care provider may face very different risks from a professional services business, while smaller employers will have different resources available to them.”
Huttley said employers should complete robust risk assessments, reduce identified risks, train staff and ensure reporting arrangements are sufficient. They should also consider how they will respond if customers, clients, suppliers or other third parties harass staff, including whether commercial relationships can continue in those circumstances.
Potential claims and enforcement
Where a worker succeeds in a sexual-harassment claim, a tribunal can increase compensation by up to 25% if it finds that the preventative duty was breached. Compensation in sexual-harassment cases can include injury to feelings and financial losses, while the Equality and Human Rights Commission has separate enforcement powers.
Huttley added: “The absence of detailed regulations is not a reason to delay. Employers should start preparing now rather than waiting for further guidance.
“Crucially, they should record the steps they have considered and why any measures were judged unreasonable or disproportionate. That evidence could be vital if their approach is later challenged.”
Submitted by David Shirt, PR Manager, on behalf of Irwin Mitchell LLP
