The law on preventing sexual harassment at work has changed recently. As of Friday 30th October 2026, instead of employers being under a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, they must now take all reasonable steps. So, what impact will this change have going forward for businesses and what does it mean in practice?
What’s changed?
On 26th October 2024, a new duty was introduced in relation to preventing sexual harassment under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023. This required employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Ultimately, employers had to take a proactive approach in relation to preventing sexual harassment before it actually happened.
From Friday 30th October 2026, the obligation on employers to prevent sexual harassment of their employees became even stricter. This is because the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) has further amended section 40A of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) by inserting the word “all” before “reasonable steps”.
The ERA 2025 also allows the government, through future regulations, to set out specific necessary steps that will be deemed as “reasonable”. These regulations are likely to be implemented following a consultation process taking place, which is expected to finalise at some point in 2027/28.
How the new “all reasonable steps” duty goes further than before
Some employers may feel that they have seen reference to taking “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment before and question what has actually changed.
This links into a defence that an employer can raise under section 109(4) EqA 2010 in relation to sexual harassment claims brought against them. Under this defence, an employer can avoid being held vicariously liable in relation to acts of sexual harassment carried out by one of their employees if the employer can show that it took all reasonable steps to prevent this. Therefore, there is a cross over between the wording of the defence and the new duty introduced from 30th October 2026.
However, the new duty under section 40A of the EqA 2010 to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and the defence under section 109(4) EqA 2010 are distinct legal mechanisms that operate at different stages and serve different purposes. Section 40A imposes a proactive, anticipatory duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment before it occurs, whilst section 109(4) provides a reactive defence to vicarious liability claims after the sexual harassment has taken place. Since 30th October 2026, both provisions require employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, creating consistency in the applicable standard.
What are the consequences of failing to take all reasonable steps?
Employees will not be able to bring a stand-alone claim if an employer fails to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. However, where an employee brings a successful sexual harassment claim against their employer in the employment tribunal and it is held that the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, the consequences could be as follows:
- A compensation uplift of up to 25%. This uplift isn’t new and it applied in relation to the previous duty, but the more stringent requirements of the new duty create more risk of a compensation uplift being awarded.
- Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) enforcement. The EHRC can investigate an employer in relation to a failure to comply with the preventative duty, issue an unlawful act notice requiring a formal action plan to be submitted, enter into binding agreements with the employer to prevent future unlawful acts, and apply for court injunctions to stop an employer from committing an unlawful act.
- Reputational damage. Public employment tribunal findings, enforcement action and publicity relating to breaches of the duty can be very damaging to businesses.
What “all reasonable steps” looks like in practice
What is regarded as “reasonable” varies from business to business. For example, an employment tribunal would consider the employer’s size, resources, sector and work environment when determining this point.
Further case law will also arise in this area over time which will provide more insight in relation to how the employment tribunal interpret the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
However, the EHRC previously published an eight-step guide in relation to potential reasonable steps an employer can take to prevent sexual harassment. These include:
- Carrying out a risk assessment.
- This should identify where risks arise when considering aspects like staff roles, working locations, lone working, social events etc.
- It should consider the risk of different forms of sexual harassment like verbal, physical or online harassment.
- It should consider the risk of third-party sexual harassment, such as by customers, suppliers, visitors and other members of the public.
- Set out an action plan which details the preventative steps the business will take for each identified risk and how it will monitor them.
- The risk assessment should also be tailored to the business, reviewed regularly and name a designated lead in relation to it.
- Having in place a clear sexual harassment policy.
- The policy should confirm what amounts to unacceptable conduct, explain how to report sexual harassment and set out the process which will be followed in relation to reports of sexual harassment.
- The policy should also signpost victims, witnesses and people who report sexual harassment to support available to them.
- The policy should be tailored to the business, reviewed regularly and name a designated lead in relation to it.
- Implementing regular mandatory sexual harassment training for all staff.
- The training should explain what sexual harassment is, the standards expected by the employer, and how staff can report sexual harassment.
- Additional specific training can be provided to senior staff members which focuses on how to handle reports of sexual harassment and how to properly deal with this.
- The training should be tailored to the employer’s business and the sector it works in.
- Having clear reporting mechanisms in place.
- A clear complaints procedure being implemented.
- Appointing a senior member of the company to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the businesses preventative measures and making any necessary changes.
Third-party harassment
Another key aspect of the recent legislative changes relates to harassment by third parties, including sexual harassment.
From 30th October 2026, an employer must not permit a third party to harass an employee. This extends to sexual harassment of staff members by third parties, such as customers, clients, suppliers, visitors to the business and other members of the public.
An employer will be regarded as permitting sexual harassment where a third party harasses an employee in the course of their employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent this.
Importantly, unlike the section 40A duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, an employee will be able to bring a stand-alone claim against their employer in relation to third-party harassment.
Employers need to carefully consider steps to implement to prevent third-party sexual harassment. Again, an employment tribunal would consider an employer’s size, resources, sector and work environment when deciding whether all reasonable steps have been implemented to prevent third-party sexual harassment. Reasonable steps may include:
- Assessing third party harassment risk and implementing an effective action plan.
- This includes the employer considering which roles and situations expose its staff to customers, clients and the public and identifying potential risks in relation to this.
- Notifying third parties that harassment of staff is unlawful and will not be tolerated.
- For example, displaying visible notices on company premises and websites in relation to this, playing recorded messages at the start of calls, and including wording in appointment or booking communications sent before meetings take place.
- Covering a section on third-party sexual harassment in sexual harassment training provided to staff.
- This can train staff on how to deal with third-party sexual harassment, how to report this, and where staff can find support in relation to this.
- Having clear reporting mechanisms in place.
- A clear complaints procedure being implemented.
How can Gorvins help
Our employment team can help employers to navigate the new duty and assist with implementation of steps to prevent sexual harassment. This includes:
- Assistance with carrying out a sexual harassment risk assessment.
- Drafting or updating a sexual harassment policy.
- Delivering sexual harassment training to staff and managers.
- Providing advice in relation to sexual harassment and the new duty generally.
If you would like assistance with the new duty in relation to sexual harassment, please get in touch with Gorvins’ employment team.
If you are an employer trying to navigate the new duty and implementation of steps to prevent sexual harassment, which