New harassment laws from October 2026: is your organisation ready?

Imagine the Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) contacts your organisation and asks what steps you have taken to prevent harassment in the workplace. Or imagine you are defending a harassment claim in the Employment Tribunal and are asked what reasonable steps you took to prevent it. Would you be able to demonstrate that you took all reasonable steps? That is what will be required from October 2026. 

What’s changing?

Since October 2024, employers have been under a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will change this. 

From 30 October 2026, the preventative duty will be strengthened to a duty to take “all reasonable steps”, meaning more will be expected of them. Employers will also be liable for third-party harassment (harassment of all kinds, not just sexual harassment), unless they can show they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Why is this important? 

At first glance, these may seem like minor changes in wording. In reality, it could make a substantial difference, and one which could be costly for employers to get wrong (financially, reputationally and culturally). 

The question is no longer simply whether an employer took reasonable steps. Instead, Employment Tribunals are likely to ask whether there was anything more that the employer could reasonably have done. If the answer is yes, employers may find it much harder to defend claims. Where employers have not complied with the duty, as well as enforcement action by the EHRC, Employment Tribunals can increase compensation awarded by up to 25%. 

Perhaps the most significant change is the (re)introduction of liability relating to third-party harassment. Third parties can include: customers, clients, contractors, suppliers, visitors, service users and the general public. It’s anyone who is not the employer or an employee of the employer. The particular risks of third-party harassment will vary significantly between sectors and organisations. That means there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to be taken and a tailored risk assessment and action plan is required. 

Employers who take this seriously will not only reduce the legal risks but will also reap the rewards culturally. Harassment is not only a legal issue. It can also have significant consequences for everyone involved – the person on the receiving end, the perpetrator, the wider team and organisation more generally. The more employers are doing to prevent harassment from happening in the first place, the better for everyone. 

What should employers be doing now? 

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce a raft of significant changes for employers in the UK, and the changes to harassment are potentially some of the most important. You can find out more at our Employment Rights Act Hub.

Employers should think carefully about the particular risks in their organisation. This is about much more than another policy update, it’s about a cultural shift, embedded through senior leadership commitment, effective training, clear communication, and more. 

What constitutes "all reasonable steps" will depend on the circumstances, including the nature of the workforce, the sector, working arrangements, and the employer's size and resources. 

Now is the ideal time to review your existing arrangements and identify any gaps before the new regime comes into force.

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