UK Workplace Harassment Law Changes: What Employers Must Do From 30 October 2026

From Friday 30 October 2026, employers in Great Britain must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, and they can be held liable when a third party harasses their staff unless they took those steps. The changes, made under the Employment Rights Act 2025, raise the bar from the previous duty to take reasonable steps, which has applied since October 2024. They also restore a form of third-party protection that secondary coverage notes was removed in 2013.

The Government says the reforms will benefit more than 18 million workers. Its announcement points to a stark figure behind the change: nearly a quarter of adults who experience sexual harassment report that it takes place in the workplace. For employers, the practical message is that prevention must now be active and documented before an incident happens, rather than a response put together afterwards.

Quick Reference Summary Table

One Small Word That Raises the Legal Bar

The headline change looks minor on paper: the duty moves from “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps”. Employment lawyers quoted in trade coverage on 30 October stressed that tribunals will judge the two phrases very differently. In practice, an employer will need to show it identified the risks in its own workplace and took every step that was reasonable for that workplace, not simply that it took some sensible precautions.

That shift matters because the law does not itself list every step an employer must take. The Government has taken a power to make regulations specifying evidence-based steps, but legal briefings say those regulations are not expected to complement the duty until 2027/28. Until then, employers must work from the duty itself, Acas guidance and the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance that is still to be published in fuller form.

What counts as reasonable will therefore vary by workplace. A large employer with public-facing staff, night shifts or lone working faces different risks from a small office with no customer contact. The common thread is that the employer should be able to evidence its thinking: a risk assessment, a policy staff actually know about, training that fits the risks found, and a reporting route that workers trust enough to use.

Harassment From Customers and Clients Is No Longer Outside the Frame

The second change is arguably the more consequential for frontline staff. From 30 October, an employer must not permit a third party to harass an employee in the course of employment. The employer is treated as permitting it where it failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

GOV.UK gives three everyday examples: a passenger harassing a bus driver, a waiter being intimidated by diners, and a shop worker dealing with abuse from customers. The same principle extends to delivery drivers, contractors, suppliers and visitors, and to harassment online as well as in person, according to trade and legal coverage of the new rules.

The coverage is not unlimited. Briefings on the changes state that harassment related to pregnancy and maternity, and to marriage and civil partnership, is not covered by the new third-party provision. The provision covers sexual harassment and harassment related to the other protected characteristics listed in the table above. Employers should therefore check the precise scope for their own workforce rather than assuming every complaint falls under the same rule.

Hospitality, retail, health and transport employers are among those most directly affected, because their staff meet members of the public as a core part of the job. Yet the rule reaches any workplace where a contractor, client or visitor interacts with employees. A policy that only covers behaviour between colleagues will no longer be enough.

What “All Reasonable Steps” Looks Like in Practice

GOV.UK names two practical measures: a clear reporting policy and training for staff on handling difficult situations. Acas and legal briefings point to a wider set of steps employers are reviewing now, including risk assessments for each role and location, clear rules for dealing with abusive customers, support for the worker after an incident, and a record of what was done and why.

Trade coverage on 30 October cited an Acas poll finding that 41% of employers were unaware of the changes. That figure, if borne out in practice, suggests many workplaces will be catching up after the law has already changed. The risk of delay is not abstract: where a tribunal upholds a sexual harassment claim and finds the preventative duty was breached, legal briefings report that compensation can be uplifted by up to 25%.

Workers also gained related protections earlier in 2026. Acas records that from 6 April 2026, sexual harassment became a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law, giving whistleblowers protection from detriment and unfair dismissal. Employment tribunal time limits also rose from three months to six months on 1 October 2026, although the older limit may still apply to problems that started before that date.

The harassment changes sit inside a wider package of Employment Rights Act reforms. GOV.UK notes that new measures supporting workplace dialogue also start from 30 October, with trade unions gaining strengthened rights for their representatives and stronger rights to access workplaces and secure recognition. Those changes arrive in the same week as the Autumn Budget announcements and a separate tax change for side hustles from April 2027, but they are legally distinct and should not be confused with the harassment duties.

What Workers Should Expect From Monday Morning

For workers, the change should mean that unacceptable behaviour from a customer is not treated as part of the job. That is the Government’s own framing, and it is the test by which staff will judge whether their employer has acted. A worker who reports harassment should be listened to, and the employer should be able to show what it did to prevent a repeat.

For employers, the immediate tasks are straightforward to state and harder to evidence. Review the risk assessment for each team, update policies and training to cover third parties explicitly, brief managers on how to intervene and support staff, and keep a record of the steps taken. Where a workplace has already done that work, the new duty should be a matter of documenting it. Where it has not, 30 October is the date from which a tribunal can ask why not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What changed on 30 October 2026? A: Employers in England, Wales and Scotland must now take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, up from reasonable steps. They are also liable for harassment by third parties unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Q: Who is a third party under the new rules? A: A person who does not work for the employer but interacts with its workers, such as a customer, client, contractor, supplier or visitor. GOV.UK examples include passengers, diners and shoppers.

Q: Does the law apply in Northern Ireland? A: No. The measures described here apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has separate equality and employment legislation, so employers there should check the rules that apply locally.

Q: What should an employer do first? A: Assess the harassment risks for each role and location, publish a clear reporting policy, train staff and managers on handling difficult situations, and keep a record of the steps taken. Detailed EHRC guidance is still due, and regulations specifying evidence-based steps are expected in 2027/28.

Q: What happens if an employer fails to comply? A: A worker can bring a claim to an employment tribunal. Legal briefings report that compensation can be uplifted by up to 25% where a tribunal upholds a sexual harassment claim and the preventative duty was breached. Each case depends on its own circumstances.

Q: Does the new duty list every step an employer must take? A: No. The Act strengthens the duty and creates a power to specify steps in regulations, but those regulations are not yet in force. Employers must judge what is reasonable for their own workplace and be able to evidence it.