The Employment Rights Act (2025) introduces some of the most significant changes to UK workplace law in years. While the Act covers a wide range of employment issues, three changes in particular are already affecting – or are about to affect – how organisations manage sexual harassment at work.
If you are responsible for HR, legal, compliance or governance in your organisation, here is what you need to know.
The changes are already under way
It would be easy to think of this as an October 2026 problem. It is not.
From October 2024, employers have been under a statutory duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. That duty is already live – and it already requires organisations to have policies, training and reporting arrangements in place, and to be able to evidence them if challenged.
From April 2026, sexual harassment became a protected whistleblowing disclosure. Employees who raise concerns about sexual harassment are now entitled to the same legal protections as other whistleblowers. Organisations that mishandle those reports – through inaction, retaliation or weak process – face significantly greater exposure than before.
What changes in October 2026
Two further changes take effect in October.
The first is the one attracting most attention. The duty on employers moves from taking reasonable steps to taking all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. That single word – all – raises the bar considerably.
Under the current standard, tribunals consider whether an employer made a genuine effort. Under the new standard, they will assess whether measures were comprehensive, up to date, consistently applied and effective in practice. Having a policy is not enough. Being able to show it was working – and that you can evidence it – is what will matter.
The second change is less widely discussed but equally significant. From October, employers become liable for harassment of their employees by third parties – clients, customers, contractors, visitors – across all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. For any organisation with client-facing teams, this is a new and material exposure.
The guidance gap
There is an added complication. Statutory guidance explaining what all reasonable steps means in practice will not arrive until 2027 – after the duty is already live. Organisations that wait for that clarity before acting are taking an unnecessary risk.
The EHRC’s existing technical guidance, combined with established tribunal practice, already gives a clear picture of what regulators will look for. The organisations best placed for October 2026 will be those that act on that picture now, not those waiting for formal confirmation.
What this means in practice
There are five areas that regulators and tribunals will scrutinise most closely: prevention activity, reporting routes, case management, investigation quality, and board oversight. Each one needs to be not just in place, but evidenced and working.
Getting there takes time. Training needs to be planned and delivered. Reporting processes need to be embedded. Investigators need to be trained. Board-level oversight needs to be clearly defined. None of this happens overnight.
Where to start
Our guide – What UK employers need to know about the Employment Rights Act 2025 – sets out the changes in full and walks through what good preparation looks like across each of the five areas.
In March, we ran a webinar with Linklaters and Kier that explored what all reasonable steps means in operational terms – what evidence looks like in practice, where organisations most commonly fall short, and how to build a framework that holds up to scrutiny. The recording is available if you missed it.
[Watch the recording]
If you would like to talk through your organisation’s position directly, get in touch with us now.