Why this matters now
Sexual harassment compliance in the UK is undergoing a major transformation. In the past, employer obligations were largely reactive: if harassment occurred, employers could defend themselves by showing they had some preventative measures in place. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (“WPA”) and the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“ERA”) have shifted the focus to a proactive duty on employers to prevent harassment before it happens.
The legal shift: from reasonable steps to all reasonable steps
The WPA introduced a new duty in October 2024 requiring employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The ERA goes further and, from October 2026, requires employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The move from “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps” imposes a stricter standard: employers must implement every feasible measure that is reasonably practicable to prevent sexual harassment. If a particular step could realistically have been taken to reduce the risk of harassment, the employer will be expected to have taken it.
Going forward, partial compliance is unlikely to be defensible. Employers will not be penalised for failing to take truly impractical or unworkable steps, but the onus will be on the employer to show why a particular step was not reasonable. Failing to meet the duty gives an employment tribunal the power to uplift the compensation awarded to a successful claimant by up to 25% if the employer did not take reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.
Third-party harassment
The ERA also reintroduces employer liability for third-party harassment, making employers liable for harassment of their staff by third parties, unless the employer can show it took all reasonable steps to prevent it. Crucially, this applies to all forms of unlawful harassment, not just sexual harassment, including harassment related to race, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation. There does not need to be any record of prior incidents before liability can arise, so the first instance of a customer harassing an employee may result in a successful employment tribunal claim if the employer has not taken steps to prevent it.
This change in the law is particularly significant for consumer and retail businesses, where employees often work in customer-facing roles and may be exposed to third parties including customers, contractors, delivery partners and members of the public. It is no longer enough for the employer to say, “we did not know this particular customer would behave badly”. Employers are expected to anticipate that third parties may harass their workers and plan accordingly.
Practical measures: all reasonable steps
Employers should consider what ‘all reasonable steps’ means for their particular business, not only for their internal workforce but to extend to risks posed by third parties. Practical measures employers should be taking now include:
Risk assessments
- Identify high-risk roles and situations, focusing on where, how and to whom sexual harassment might occur within the organisation.
- Pay particular attention to customer-facing roles, lone working, closing shifts, delivery interactions and situations where employees have limited immediate support.
Policies, notices and customer expectations
- Put in place clear, robust and up-to-date policies setting out that harassment is prohibited, providing examples of unacceptable behaviour and outlining how to report issues and explaining how incidents will be investigated.
- Ensure harassment policies expressly cover harassment by customers, clients, contractors, delivery partners and other third parties as well as within the business.
- Use clear customer conduct notices and, where appropriate, contractual terms or customer agreements to communicate a zero-tolerance stance on harassment.
Training, reporting and escalation
- Provide harassment awareness training to staff and managers so they understand what behaviour is unacceptable and how to respond if issues arise.
- Put in place effective reporting channels for staff to raise concerns either formally or informally and ensure managers know how to escalate complaints.
- Train frontline staff on realistic scenarios, including de-escalation techniques, such as safely responding to inappropriate comments and knowing when to seek support.
- Establish clear reporting and escalation procedures for third-party incidents, including how staff should respond to abusive customers and what steps may be taken against repeat or serious offenders.
Intervention, follow-up and monitoring
- Investigate any incidents promptly and take disciplinary action when necessary to show that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated.
- Prepare managers to intervene promptly when harassment by a third party is observed or reported, including removing the employee from the situation, warning the third party, contacting security or, in serious cases, the police.
- Follow up with affected employees after incidents and monitor workplace culture through employee surveys, exit interviews and a review of reported concerns.
If you need assistance or advice in implementing these practical measures, please contact our team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and will be more than happy to assist.