October 2026 harassment reforms

Many employers will need to revisit their approach to harassment before October 2026. From 30 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 ("ERA 2025") will strengthen the existing duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment (the duty to take "reasonable steps" will become a duty to take "all reasonable steps") and will introduce a new duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent third party harassment.

For many organisations, the challenge will be about more than updating policies and training materials.

The reforms represent a significant shift in emphasis from compliance to evidence. Employers will increasingly need to demonstrate not only that they have policies, training and reporting processes in place, but that they have actively identified harassment risks, taken appropriate preventative action and kept those measures under review.

That distinction matters. There is no definitive checklist of what will amount to "all reasonable steps", and employers face a period of genuine uncertainty as the law develops. Even as further guidance emerges, it is likely to establish a minimum standard rather than an exhaustive list. Employers will still need to assess their own risks and determine what additional steps are reasonable in their particular workplace.

This guide explains what is changing, why it matters and the key actions employers should be prioritising before October 2026.‍

1. The Strengthened Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment

What is changing

Since October 2024, employers have been under a proactive duty to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their employees during the course of their employment. But from 30 October 2026, that duty will become one to take "all reasonable steps".

Why it matters

Employees will not be able to bring standalone claims for breach of the duty alone. But if a sexual harassment claim succeeds and a tribunal finds the duty was breached, compensation can be increased by up to 25%. The EHRC also has direct enforcement powers, and the reputational risk of being found non-compliant, in what is an increasingly high-profile area, is significant in its own right.

If sexual harassment is found to have taken place, it will be very hard for employers to show they took "all reasonable steps" to prevent it; if the claimant can evidence even one reasonable step was missed, the duty will likely have been breached.

There is also an information gap for employers to navigate. Regulations specifying what counts as "all reasonable steps" are not expected until 2027/28 at the earliest and may not materialise at all. So employers will face a period of genuine uncertainty between October 2026 and whenever regulations are published.

Even when (and if) those regulations arrive, they will set a floor, not a ceiling; employers must still take any additional steps that are reasonable in their particular circumstances, having regard to size, sector, resources and working environment. It's therefore likely that larger employers will be subject to more scrutiny by tribunals in terms of reasonable steps. The practical challenge for employers is likely to be evidencing the decisions they have made. Tribunals are likely to scrutinise how risks were identified, what preventative measures were adopted and whether those measures were reviewed and updated over time.

Ultimately, we are likely to see an increase in claims for sexual harassment. Reports of sexual harassment are on the rise: Acas reported a 39% increase in calls about sexual harassment in 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Since 6 April 2026, reporting sexual harassment has been a protected disclosure for whistleblowing purposes (see more here). This, combined with the strengthening of the duty in October, is likely to encourage more employees to come forward.‍

2. The New Duty to Prevent Third-Party Harassment

What is changing

From 30 October 2026, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent their employees from being harassed by third parties. A 'third party' is anyone who is not the employer or a fellow employee, so will include customers, clients, contractors, suppliers, members of the public, visitors, delivery drivers and even co-tenants in shared workspaces. The duty covers online and digital interactions, not just in-person conduct.

The duty is wider in scope than many employers realise. It covers not only sexual harassment but harassment related to all relevant protected characteristics: age, disability, race, gender reassignment, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Why it matters

The previous third-party harassment regime (repealed in 2013) required at least two prior incidents of which the employer was aware before liability attached. The new law sets no such threshold. Employees need only show that harassment occurred in the course of their employment and that the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Critically, employees will be able to bring a standalone claim directly against their employer for third-party harassment. The EHRC can also enforce the duty directly. As such, this reform is going to have a significant impact on employers.

The sectors most acutely affected will be those where workers regularly interact with the public, e.g. retail, hospitality, health and social care, professional services and transport. However, the reality is that almost all workers have some interaction with third parties during their employment.

The government has clarified a few points. It's acknowledged that employers have less control over third parties than over their own workforce and expects tribunals to take this into account. It's also confirmed that employers won't be expected to foresee the wholly unforeseeable or police every private conversation. The conduct in question must be sufficiently serious, and where the tribunal is considering whether the conduct had the effect of creating a hostile or degrading environment, it will apply an objective test (i.e. was it reasonable for the conduct to have that effect).

That said, genuine uncertainties remain. How far must employers investigate incidents involving third parties who cannot be identified or traced or who refuse to cooperate (for example, a customer in a shop)? Will the reasonableness assessment be impacted by the working environment (for example, should an employee in a pub take less offence to certain conversations than one in a shop)? How will freedom of speech interact with the duty, particularly following recent case law on protected philosophical beliefs? These are some of the questions that case law will need to resolve. In the meantime, practical common sense, applied consistently and documented carefully, may be one of the strongest forms of protection available to employers. Organisations that can demonstrate a considered approach to identifying and managing foreseeable third-party risks are likely to be in a stronger position.

Finally, there's one further development worth keeping in mind: the ERA 2025 will change how confidentiality clauses operate in harassment and discrimination settlements. Clauses stopping workers from speaking about harassment (including an employer's response to a complaint of harassment) will be void unless they meet the requirements for an "excepted agreement." This reform isn't expected until 2027 and the detail is still to come, but we know that, following this reform, workers will likely have greater say over whether to enter such agreements, with enhanced advice requirements and wider permitted disclosures. The upshot is that employers should focus on prevention now, not confidentiality after the fact.‍

3. What you should do now

Both duties share the same standard of "all reasonable steps" and therefore call for a common response. The most effective preparation is unlikely to come from a single policy update or training programme. Instead, employers should focus on building and evidencing a structured approach to prevention.

The five steps below provide a practical framework for doing that. One principle runs through every step:

If challenged by a tribunal or the EHRC, could you demonstrate not only what you did, but why you did it and how you reviewed whether it was working?

Document everything. Record your risk assessments, policy reviews, training, investigations and the reasoning behind every decision, including where you identify a potential step but conclude it is not reasonable to implement. That reasoning could be decisive in a tribunal claim or EHRC investigation.

How We Can Help

Preparing for October 2026 is about more than updating policies.

Employers will increasingly need to demonstrate that they have identified risks, implemented appropriate preventative measures and kept those measures under review.

Our Employment team supports organisations with workplace risk assessments, policy reviews, training, investigations, and broader harassment prevention strategies. We can help you develop a practical, evidence-based approach that reflects the particular risks and realities of your organisation.

Please contact one of the team below to discuss how we can support your organisation's preparations.