THe rules on harassment are changing - are you ready?
Since 26th October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 has placed a legal preventative duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers.
Employers should be able to demonstrate that they have actively considered where sexual harassment could occur and what they are doing to reduce the risk.
This can include:
Regularly assessing workplace risks, including risks associated with customers, clients and other third parties.
Having a clear, up-to-date anti-harassment policy.
Providing appropriate training for employees and managers.
Making sure employees know how to raise concerns and that complaints are handled promptly and sensitively.
Monitoring workplace culture and looking for warning signs.
Reviewing whether preventative measures are actually working.
More changes are on the way
Employers should also be aware that the Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens the preventative duty. From 1 October 2026, employers will be required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent all forms of harassment, while the the current “reasonable steps” standard stays in place. The new obligations are extended to include third-party harassment.
For employers, this means now is the time to review your approach rather than waiting for the October 2026 changes.
While the “reasonable steps” is fairly established, the expectation is now that third parties should now work with you to address concerns. This should include:
Support for investigations and taking complaints seriously;
Taking action where harassment has taken place, giving support to demonstrate it has taken place but not share the specific action;
Risk assessing issues in the same way that you would for assessing sexual harassment;
And taking action to protect staff if needed including punitive measures on third parties if necessary.
What action can you take right now?
It’s time to take a practical approach, review your policies, identify where risks exist, put new training in place and keep evidence of the steps you are taking. Most importantly, you cannot treat this as a tick box exercise (not that you should have been doing in the first place) however if you hadn’t considered this as a serious part of your employer responsibilities before, that starts now.
Need help reviewing your HR policies or preparing for the upcoming changes? We can help ensure you’re ready.