Equality and Human Rights Commission updates its guidance as new harassment protections in the workplace take effect

At a glance

• From 30 October 2026, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work, with compensation potentially increased by up to 25% where the duty is breached and an employee succeeds in a sexual harassment claim.
• Updated guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) confirms that this is an anticipatory and ongoing duty applying to all employers, with comprehensive risk assessments central to demonstrating compliance.
• Employers must also take all reasonable steps to prevent third party harassment, which extends beyond sexual harassment and requires risks and preventative measures to be specifically addressed.
• Employers should prioritise and regularly review risk assessments, policies, procedures and training, ensuring that all reasonable preventative measures are implemented and remain effective.

Key employment reforms taking effect under the Employment Rights Act 2025 continue to move forward. On 30 October 2026, another milestone on the government's implementation roadmap was reached when new protections against workplace harassment took effect.

Employers must now take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace (expanding the duty to 'just' take reasonable steps, introduced in October 2024). A breach of this duty is something which will be taken into consideration in the event that an employee’s sexual harassment claim is successful and compensation is awarded. In these circumstances, the awarded compensation may then be uplifted by up to 25%

Employers must also not permit harassment of employees in the course of their employment by third parties and must take all reasonable steps to prevent this happening. This new right revives protection repealed in 2013, but in a slightly different and potentially broader way, for example there is no longer a three-strikes rule before employers may become liable.

Importantly, protection against third party harassment is not limited to sexual harassment and affected employees can bring a standalone claim in the Employment Tribunal.

For further details of these new rights, see our earlier article.

Now, the EHRC has published an update to its technical guidance and 8-step guide to assist employers in understanding what these new employee protections mean in practice.

All reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment

The updated EHRC technical guidance covers what is meant by all reasonable steps mainly in sections 3.31 – 3.42 and 3.65 – 3.77.

The guidance makes clear that all employers are subject to the new duty; no businesses are exempt. It also states that whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps is an objective test and will depend on the facts and circumstances of each situation.

The guidance also reinforces that the new duty is an 'anticipatory duty' and that a risk assessment is critical to determining the risks which might occur and reasonable steps in response. It expressly says that an employer is unlikely to be able to comply with the preventative duty unless it carries out a risk assessment.

Crucially, the guidance confirms that if there are reasonable steps that an employer could have taken, but it decides not to, then again it will likely fail to comply with the preventative duty.

Employers must also take note that compliance is not a one-and-done exercise. The guidance highlights that compliance is a continuous process. This means that the effectiveness of measures to prevent sexual harassment must be kept under regular review, and further or different action taken where necessary. 

Takeaways: Employers must ensure they carry out a comprehensive risk assessment, consulting with trade union or employee representatives as appropriate. If not already in place, this is a business critical action which should be implemented with high priority. Employers should also ensure that they have a strategy for continuous compliance. Reviewing and regularly refreshing their risk assessment and its measures is essential, as is having up-to-date policies and procedures and regular meaningful training.

Third party harassment

Protection against third party harassment is mainly covered in sections 3.89 - 3.110 and 4.30 - 4.35 of the technical guidance.

It is clear that measures to protect against third party harassment need to be specifically covered in employers' risk assessments. However, the guidance also makes clear that the steps it would be reasonable for an employer to take to prevent third-party harassment are likely to be different from the steps an employer could take to prevent harassment by a worker. Examples in the guidance include clear communications with third parties (eg in signage, contractual terms etc), the possibility of removal of third parties from business premises, and providing a means for employees to remove themselves from a harassing situation.

The guidance says that employers do not need to plan for situations that would be extremely unlikely to occur. Further, it says that it would not be reasonable for employers to take steps to prevent a situation that is completely unexpected. The guidance clarifies that the law does not require employers to stop all third-party harassment against their workers - it only requires them to take all steps that are reasonable.

Takeaways: Employers will need to give careful consideration to all the reasonable steps which could be taken to prevent third party harassment specifically. The steps should be adequately reflected in their risk assessment and then implemented, with ongoing review of their effectiveness.