⏱️ 5 minute read
If you updated your sexual harassment policy and rolled out training in October 2024, now is the time to check what happened afterwards. Have new starters received it? Do managers know how to respond? Has anything changed in the way your people work?
The preventative duty is due to strengthen on 30 October 2026, moving from “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps”. New protection against third-party harassment is also coming into force. Employers should revisit their 2024 measures against the risks they face today.
1 | Revisit the steps you chose in 2024
What’s changed: The strengthened duty will require all steps that are reasonable for your organisation. Taking a selection of sensible measures will not be enough if other reasonable preventive steps remain available.
Why it matters: A policy and training course may form part of your approach, but neither tells you whether the risks have been addressed. Smaller employers are covered too, although the arrangements reasonably expected of them may be less elaborate.
What to do: Review risks by role, location, shift and activity. Include things like remote work, messaging platforms, travel, overnight stays, work events and the presence of alcohol. Consider power imbalances and what complaints, informal concerns, exit information and staff feedback tell you. Record the measures considered, what you’ll do and why any other measure is not reasonable in your circumstances.
2 | Include the people your staff meet through work
What’s changed: Employers will face liability for third-party harassment where they have failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. This protection is wider than sexual harassment and also covers relevant harassment related to protected characteristics.
Why it matters: A customer, client, patient or supplier can create a workplace risk even though you do not employ them. Managers need to know what they can do when that happens, particularly where the third party is commercially important.
What to do: Set clear behaviour standards and include them in relevant customer or supplier arrangements. Give staff a route to report incidents and permission to disengage from unsafe interactions. Decide who can warn a third party, restrict contact or exclude them where appropriate. Keep incident records so repeat behaviour is addressed. Contract wording alone will not discharge your duties.
3 | Test reporting and training in practice
What’s changed: The stronger standard makes this a sensible point to test the arrangements behind your policy, rather than simply changing its wording.
Why it matters: A route that requires someone to complain to the person they are concerned about is unlikely to work. Nor is training that employees completed two years ago but no longer understand.
What to do: Offer more than one reporting route, including an alternative where a concern involves HR, an owner or a senior leader. Check conflicts before appointing an investigator or decision-maker. Handle information sensitively, without promising complete confidentiality, and protect people from retaliation.
Use examples relevant to your workplace, including online messages, “banter”, social events and third-party conduct. Give managers and those handling complaints the additional skills their roles require. Refresh training when risks, incidents, legal developments or gaps in understanding justify it; annual training is not a universal statutory minimum.
4 | Check that prevention is happening
What’s changed: Employers need to be able to explain how their measures meet the strengthened duty. A list of intended actions leaves an obvious gap if those actions were never completed.
Why it matters: Following a successful sexual harassment claim, a tribunal may increase relevant compensation by up to 25% for breach of the preventative duty. The uplift is not automatic.
What to do: Give a senior person responsibility for the action plan. Keep dated assessments, training records and evidence that policies were communicated. Review incidents and trends, assign overdue actions and test whether the measures work. “Zero tolerance” should still mean fair investigations, evidence-based findings and proportionate outcomes.
How can we help?
Our updated employer checklist will help you review your risks, reporting arrangements, training and evidence before 30 October. Download the updated checklist.
If you need help reviewing your approach, updating policies or equipping managers to respond to concerns, get in touch.
This update is accurate on the date it was published but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.
