What is changing
Since October 2024, employers have been under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. From 30 October 2026, that standard rises to taking all reasonable steps. Acas confirms that from the same date, employers will be liable for harassment of their workers by third parties, such as customers or clients, unless they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.
Commentary from employment lawyers indicates the third-party protection will extend beyond sexual harassment to most other protected characteristics. The Act also gives the government power to set out in future regulations what counts as reasonable steps, but that detail has not yet been published. In the meantime, the Equality and Human Rights Commission is updating its guidance, which already makes clear there are no minimum standards and that what is reasonable depends on factors such as the employer's size, sector, working environment and contact with third parties.
A separate change took effect on 1 October 2026. The time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims increased from three months to six months, where the act complained of happens on or after that date.
Why it matters to health and safety professionals
Harassment can look like an HR issue, but the preventative duty works in a way that health and safety professionals will recognise. It is about identifying foreseeable risk, putting proportionate controls in place and checking they work. Employers were already expected to have assessed the risk of sexual harassment under the 2024 duty. The move to 'all reasonable steps' means that assessment, and the actions coming out of it, will be tested more closely if a claim is made.
Third-party harassment matters for a wide range of businesses: shops, hospitality, care settings, call centres, reception and front-of-house staff, field workers visiting customers' premises, and staff dealing with members of the public. It also overlaps with work-related violence and stress, both of which already fall within health and safety risk assessment.
This applies to every employer, including office-based and professional services businesses. Small organisations are not exempt, although what counts as reasonable will reflect their size and resources.
Practical takeaways for employers
- Review your harassment risk assessment before 30 October. Make sure it covers third parties as well as colleagues, and record the specific steps you have taken and why they are proportionate for your business.
- Check that managers and supervisors know how to receive, record and act on a complaint, including one about a customer or client. A policy that nobody knows how to use will carry little weight.
- Link the harassment assessment to your existing work-related violence and stress assessments so that controls for lone workers, front-line staff and customer-facing roles are consistent. Take advice from an employment law specialist where you are unsure what the new standard requires in your circumstances.
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