Employment Rights Act 2025: Updated duty to prevent sexual harassment at work
From 2024 employers have had to comply with the new legislation laid out as part of their duty to prevent sexual harassment. April 2026 saw advanced whistleblowing protections for employees as part of the first major implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025, meaning that reporting sexual harassment will automatically count as a protected disclosure, with the aim of encouraging earlier and safer reporting.
From 30th October 2026 a major change comes into play, again as part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, with employers having to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. This will require employers to be proactive in their management of risk factors, as well as actively planning and documenting preventative measures put in place.
Liability is also extended to harassment carried out by third parties, including (but not limited to) customers, clients, patients and contractors. These new regulations will require employers to show that they have anticipated the risks, incorporated them in their planning and put measures in place as a pre-emptive measure before an instance of sexual harassment happens.
As an employer, it is vital that your policies and contracts reflect the changes in legislation. Failure to do so could result in extremely costly financial and reputational damage.
Talk to a member of the Croner HR and Employment Law Advisory team and get advice on your employer responsibilities under your duty to prevent sexual harassment. Call today on 0800 470 9999.
What is the current law regarding sexual harassment?
The Equality Act 2010 outlines the definition of sexual harassment as "unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for them."
As part of The Worker Protection Act 2023, which came into law in October 2024, employers are required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. This forms part of their preventative duty and, if not complied with, means that they are breaking the law.
Whilst the term "reasonable steps" isn't given a clear definition, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has outlined, what it considers to be clear expectations put on employers, when tackling sexual harassment in the workplace.
This includes:
Conducting a thorough sexual harassment risk assessment.
The implementation of preventative measures.
Implementing clear policies and reporting channels.
Up-to-date sexual harassment training of staff, with proper documentation and record keeping.
Ensuring that complaints of sexual harassment are taken seriously and documented accordingly.
What is set to change regarding sexual harassment legislation?
October brings into play two key pieces of legislation adding to the responsibilities already placed on employers.
Firstly, employers must take "all" reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, this means employers taking a much more proactive role in assessing risks, planning and documenting all preventative measures taken.
Secondly, the implementation of liability for third party harassment means that employers must think above and beyond their own workforce. Businesses will be liable if a worker experiences harassment at the hands of a client, customer, or contractor etc. and there is no evidence that there were preventative measures taken. This will be especially relevant in customer facing roles.
What does "all reasonable steps" mean under sexual harassment laws?
Whilst the regulations defining "all reasonable steps" are set to be published in 2027 following a public consultation, this will be supported “at a later date”, set to be in 2027, by regulations that will provide evidence-based steps which employers must take to prevent sexual harassment alongside EHRC technical guidance.
Employers, in the meantime, should be covering all bases and leave nothing to chance. If employers are looking for a reference in the meantime, the EHRC published an 8-step guide to preventing sexual harassment, which were developed when the anticipatory duty was first introduced in Oct 2024.
Particular areas employers should pay attention to is creating robust policies and procedures, and ensuring they are implemented effectively. Training, both the frequency and quality of, is another such area that employers are likely to be scrutinised on in the event of an employment tribunal.
What steps should my business be taking to be compliant with the upcoming changes?
Whilst the final changes to legislation will be passed in 2027, the requirement to take all reasonable steps is coming soon, in October 2026, and employers should be reviewing their processes now to tighten them up.
A full review of sexual harassment policies
Update and refresh anti-harassment policies alongside whistleblowing policies, ensuring third-party harassment coverage, protected disclosure updates, as well as consistency and clarity regarding reporting channels. Policies should be frequently reviewed for alignment.
Conduct risk assessments
Risk assessments pertaining to sexual harassment should be tailored to roles and industries. A general risk assessment (read one-size-fits-all approach) should be avoided. You should take into account the individual nature of the role and the working environment, for example, are they a lone worker? Are they customer facing? Is there a high customer volume? etc.
Liaising with your workforce to gain insight would be a strong consideration when conducting risk assessments of this nature.
Risk assessments should be detailed, documented and easily accessible.
Conduct proper training
Training is vital to ensuring your business remains on the right side of the law, and as a result it should be carried out regularly. The training should showcase practical examples and engage workers, rather than just relying on theoretical statements. As part of your documentation process you should save any slides or speaker notes and publish them for easy employee reference.
Training shouldn't just be conducted for ordinary staff members, training for managers and senior leadership should also be included. Be sure to include third party risks as well how to report concerns in a safe manner, alongside how to correctly challenge instances of inappropriate conduct.
Maintaining a detailed training log covering individuals who have received training and the types of training undertaken, is recommended.
Create boundaries with external parties
Considerations for communicating behavioural expectations for third parties should be discussed. For instance, visible signage or utilising contractual terms. Either way, the aforementioned should be explained clearly and expectations set early on.
Create a robust anti-harassment culture
Anti-harassment policies and procedures are nothing if not put into practice and the best way to uphold values is to live them. Senior leadership should be championing the requirements and be visible when doing so, as this will send a message to the wider workforce as to the expectations placed on them.
Anonymity, where possible, should be used to encourage early reporting and potential incidents in the making. Documenting these in a log can help define patterns and allow for procedure to be refined and improved in the long term.
Get expert support with Croner
Navigating new changes to Employment Law, HR and Health and Safety can be daunting for business owners. Croner's expert team has been supporting employers for over 80 years with professional advice and resources to ensure that businesses are protected.
Call today on 0800 470 9999.