From 30 October 2026, employers must take “all reasonable steps” to try to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, rather than just “reasonable steps”. What does this change mean in practice?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is, and continues to be, implemented through a variety of workplace reforms. Amongst the amendments included in the legislation is a vitally important reform regarding workplace sexual harassment. Prior to the legislation, employers under the 2010 Equality Act were obliged to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Under new legislation, employers now must take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent it, and not just react to it.
Under the new laws employers are also obliged to prevent sexual harassment by third parties too, not just their own workforce. All reasonable steps includes protecting workers from both in person and online sexual harassment.
How will this be implemented?
Practically, “all reasonable steps” means an employer must be able to show they assessed and identified the risks in the workplace and took all measures that could reasonably be expected to prevent them in the circumstances, across the whole organisation, with the resources available to them.
The government has been given power to prescribe specific steps in the future but there is no current “checklist”. The steps that are appropriate will differ from organisation to organisation, depending on their size, sector and the kind of work undertaken. It is inevitable that larger organisations will need to demonstrate they have gone to greater lengths to prevent sexual harassment.
Our recommendations are as follows (for both internal risks and risks from third parties):
- Conduct a risk assessment: identify where sexual harassment could occur, both within your workforce and from third parties, including considering the types of third parties your workers are in contact with. You must take action on the findings, it is not enough to simply identify them.
- Clear policy: Have a clear policy in place explaining prohibited behaviour and how to report it. For third parties, consider including appropriate wording in your supplier agreements etc.
- Give clear training to staff: Managers should be able to recognise harassment without waiting for a formal complaint and equally staff should know how to raise concerns. Ensure the training covers third party sexual harassment too.
- Provide multiple ways to report concerns: employees should be able to raise concerns via a number of channels, for example via an anonymous third party platform, if appropriate.
- Fair investigation process: Have an effective, fair and impartial process for investigation.
- Monitor and record complaints: to identity patterns and underlying issues.
- Learn from mistakes: If an incident occurs, look at changing preventative measures to avoid future occurrences.
Consequences of breach
Employment tribunals will inevitably be scrutinising sexual harassment claims to a greater degree than before. Tribunals can make awards including an uplift on damages of up to 25% to employees where preventative measures weren’t met.
Protection for whistleblowers
It is important to note that, also from 30 October 2026, sexual harassment is to become officially categorised as a qualifying disclosure, meaning that employees reporting sexual harassment are protected against dismissal and detriment.
What employers should do now
- Review and update existing policies; emphasising prevention, not reactiveness
- Consider implementing a standalone sexual harassment policy
- Ensure that there are several avenues through which employees can report sexual harassment
- Provide comprehensive, mandatory training to all employees
- Provide additional, enhanced training to managers, senior leaders, trade union representatives and also HR staff
Please get in touch if you would like further advice and guidance.
Tom Redfern email: tredfern@redfernlegal.com
