Employment Rights Act Strengthens Workplace Harassment Protections

For too long, workers have had to endure harassment before employers take action. For many people, complaints are only addressed after the damage has already been done.

That is now changing. New protections introduced through employment law reforms on 30 October 2026 place stronger responsibilities on employers to prevent harassment and create safer workplaces from the outset.

What is the difference between “reasonable steps” and “all reasonable steps”?

The addition of the word “all” carries significant legal weight. Under the strengthened duty, employers will no longer be able to rely on a basic or outdated harassment policy as evidence that they have met their obligations.

Instead, they will be expected to take a more active and thorough approach, including:

• assessing workplace risks before problems arise;
• providing effective harassment training;
• reviewing policies regularly; and
• taking every reasonable measure to safeguard employees.

In practice, this means employers may be expected to:

• identify areas where staff face a higher risk of harassment;
• ensure managers know how to respond appropriately to complaints;
• provide regular and meaningful training, not just a one-off online course;
• monitor whether policies are actually working; and
• take swift action when problems are identified.

Simply having a policy on paper is unlikely to be enough.

Reintroduction of third-party harassment liability

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will also make employers liable if they fail to take action which prevents employees from harassment by non-employees. This change will be particularly important for members working in customer-facing roles, including retail, hospitality, education, transport, health and public services, where harassment from members of the public can be a regular occurrence.

Crucially, this protection is not limited to sexual harassment. Employers will be required to take reasonable steps to protect workers from harassment by third parties related to protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010, including age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. These changes mean employers will have a greater responsibility to prevent all harassment before it happens and respond quickly when concerns are raised.

Community encourages members to report harassment, keep a record of any incidents and seek support from their workplace representative, or directly through Community as early as possible.

Our Equalities Representatives and Workplace Representatives will continue working with employers to ensure these legal protections lead to real change on the ground.

Welcoming these changes, Head of Equalities Jennifer Dean said:

“For too long, workers have been expected to tolerate unacceptable behaviour at work. The introduction of stronger protections against third-party harassment, alongside the new ‘all reasonable steps’ duty, marks an important shift towards preventing harassment before it happens.

No one should face abuse, harassment or discrimination while simply doing their job. These changes recognise that employers have a responsibility not only to respond when something goes wrong, but to take proactive steps to stop harassment occurring in the first place.

Community welcomes these reforms and will continue to work alongside our members, representatives and employers to ensure these new rights make a real difference in workplaces across the UK. Together, we can help build safer, fairer and more respectful working environments for everyone.”