A further reminder that the new duties around the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace will also be coming into place from 30th October 2026. This includes various measures to strengthen the protection of workers against harassment in the workplace. Here is a brief summary of what is expected.
Sexual Harassment
Since 2024, employers have had a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. By the end of October 2026 this will change so that employers will now have a duty to take all reasonable steps.
Although it has not been confirmed what “all reasonable steps” will entail, the UK Department for Business and Trade released guidance on what all reasonable steps could look like, which includes:
- Carrying out assessments of a specified description;
- Publishing plans or policies of a specified description;
- Steps relating to the reporting of sexual harassment; and
- Steps relating to the handle of complaints.
What steps employers should take will also depend on the circumstances of the individual employer, for example, in relation to their size, sector, working environment and resources.
Third Party Harassment
Employers will also have a duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent their workers from being harassed by a third party during the course of their employment. This relates to all forms of harassment and is not limited to sexual harassment. A third party could mean a customer, client, contractor, supplier etc. This will be of particular importance to employers whose workers often come into contact with the public, such as the hospitality, retail and healthcare sectors. Given that employers have far less control over third party individuals than their employees, care will be required around the employers’ communications with the general public and complaints handling processes. This is also likely to lead to difficult dilemmas for employers when faced with complaints from large donors or clients. We would advise taking advice at an early stage if anu complaints are received.
Next Steps
We await further guidance from the government as to what employers should be doing to ensure that they are taking all reasonable steps to prevent both sexual harassment and third-party harassment. In the meantime, employers should be:
- reviewing their policies and procedures to ensure that they are up to date and in line with the new changes;
- having specific risk assessments;
- tailored anti-sexual harassment and anti-harassment policies;
- mandatory training (in particular for management); and
- handling any complaints in a prompt fashion.
These are all good measures that all employers should adopt in order to ensure that they are protecting their workers from all forms of harassment.
