Since October 2024, employers have been under a proactive duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their workers. On 30 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 raises that bar decisively: the duty becomes one to take all reasonable steps, and workers gain protection against harassment by third parties such as customers, clients and patients. Together with the incoming NDA restrictions, these reforms mark a decisive shift from discreetly settling harassment complaints to demonstrably preventing them.
Key facts at a glance
- From 30 October 2026, employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, strengthening the “reasonable steps” duty in force since October 2024.
- New protection against third-party harassment arrives the same day, covering harassment by customers, clients and other non-employees.
- Since 6 April 2026, disclosures about sexual harassment are expressly protected disclosures under whistleblowing law.
- Tribunals can uplift discrimination compensation where the preventative duty is breached, and the EHRC can take enforcement action.
From “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps”
One word carries the weight of this reform. Under the current duty, an employer can point to a sensible package of measures and argue it acted reasonably overall. Under the strengthened duty, the question becomes whether there was any further reasonable step the employer could have taken but did not. A dusty policy and an annual e-learning module will not survive that test. Expect regulations and updated EHRC guidance to flesh out what is required, but the direction is clear: risk assessments, meaningful training, active monitoring, credible reporting channels and visible leadership engagement.
Third-party harassment returns
Protection against harassment by third parties existed briefly under the Equality Act before being repealed in 2013. Its return is significant for any employer whose staff face the public: hospitality, retail, healthcare, transport, professional services. Employers will not be able to shrug off a client's behaviour as outside their control, they will be expected to anticipate the risk and act on it, whether through contractual terms with clients, signage, escalation procedures or, ultimately, refusing custom.
The settlement dimension
Harassment complaints have historically been among the most commonly settled employment disputes, and the most commonly silenced. Three converging reforms change that landscape. The strengthened preventative duty increases the value and credibility of harassment claims, since a breach can attract a compensation uplift. The whistleblowing change means an employee who raises sexual harassment is protected against dismissal or detriment for doing so, from day one of employment. And the NDA reforms will prevent settlements from buying silence about the underlying conduct. The result: settlement remains a legitimate way to resolve a dispute and compensate an individual, but it can no longer function as a containment strategy for a cultural problem.
Employers who treat 30 October 2026 as a documentation exercise are mispricing the risk. The organisations that will fare best are those that can show a tribunal a living system, risk assessments acted on, complaints investigated properly, patterns escalated to the board. For employees, the same reforms mean a harassment complaint now carries more legal weight than at any point in the modern era; advice at an early stage matters.
A practical readiness checklist for employers
- Carry out and document a sexual harassment risk assessment covering third-party contact points.
- Replace generic training with role-specific, scenario-based sessions, and repeat them.
- Establish reporting routes workers actually trust, including options outside line management.
- Review contracts and site rules governing customer and client conduct.
- Audit past complaints for patterns, and revisit any historic settlements that relied on broad confidentiality in light of the incoming NDA restrictions.
Frequently asked questions
What changes on 30 October 2026?
Two things: the duty to prevent sexual harassment is strengthened from taking 'reasonable steps' to taking 'all reasonable steps', and workers gain protection against harassment by third parties such as customers and clients.
What happens if an employer breaches the preventative duty?
A tribunal can uplift compensation in a successful harassment claim where the duty was breached, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission can take enforcement action against the employer directly.
Are employees protected if they report sexual harassment?
Yes. Since 6 April 2026, a disclosure that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur is expressly a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing legislation, which protects workers from dismissal or detriment for speaking up from day one of employment.
Can harassment complaints still be settled confidentially?
Settlement remains lawful, but confidentiality is narrowing sharply. Under the Employment Rights Act's NDA provisions, expected in force during 2027, clauses preventing a worker speaking about harassment or the employer's response to it will be void unless the agreement qualifies as an 'excepted agreement' under forthcoming regulations.
Sources and further reading
About this article. This guide is provided by Frederick George for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Employment law changes frequently and the position described here reflects the law and published government implementation plans as at the date shown above. Frederick George is a legal referral service, not a law firm; for advice on your specific circumstances we will connect you with an SRA-regulated solicitor. Please contact us before relying on any information on this page.
