Employment Rights Act 2025: What You Need to Know About the Sexual Harassment Reforms

By Harriet Calver on 10 November 2026

The prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace has been a growing area of focus for legislators in recent years. Since October 2024, employers have had a positive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of their workers. The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) builds on that duty by introducing new whistleblowing protections, expanding employer liability and placing greater emphasis on proactive risk management. Employers who fail to prepare face not only increased legal exposure but potential reputational and employee relations risk.

What changes have taken place?

Sexual harassment is protected under whistleblowing law

Since 6 April 2026, disclosures regarding sexual harassment have qualified as protected disclosures under the UK whistleblowing framework. As such, where a worker reports their reasonable belief that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur, they will now be afforded protection from detriment and dismissal.

Employees will no longer need to show that their concern falls into another category of wrongdoing to be protected; for example, that it’s a criminal offence, a legal breach or a health and safety issue, which may result in an increased number of disclosures.

Arguably the most significant consequence of this reform is that workers who are dismissed for making a protected disclosure about sexual harassment may be entitled to seek interim relief; an emergency remedy which, if granted, can result in the employee continuing to receive their salary while they wait for their Employment Tribunal claim to be decided. Whilst interim relief applications are notoriously difficult to succeed in, given the current Employment Tribunal backlog, this remedy could be a powerful tool for claimants.

The duty to take ‘all reasonable steps’

From 30 October 2026, the existing duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment has been strengthened, requiring employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’.

What constitutes ‘all reasonable steps’ is currently undefined. However, the ERA also introduces a power allowing future regulations to specify particular steps that employers must take when complying with the duty. In the meantime, what measures are appropriate will depend on the specific circumstances of the employer, including their size, sector and resources. Tribunals are likely to consider factors including risk assessments, the quality and frequency of training, reporting mechanisms, the handling of complaints, leadership commitment and workplace culture.

Third party harassment

One of the most significant changes for many employers is the introduction of liability for third-party harassment, which also took effect on 30 October 2026.

Under the new regime, employers will be liable where a worker is harassed by a third party (such as a customer, client, service user, visitor or member of the public) in the course of their employment, where the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.

This protection extends beyond sexual harassment and applies to harassment related to any protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Customer-facing businesses in sectors such as hospitality, healthcare and retail may face particular challenges. Whilst employers cannot control the behaviour of every third party their employees interact with, they will be expected to demonstrate that reasonable preventative measures have been considered and implemented.

Where an employer is liable for sexual harassment, an uplift of 25% may be made to compensation where the preventative duty has been breached in relation to third parties.

NDAs will be restricted

The ERA also contains a provision which will prevent employers from enforcing contractual terms that seek to stop workers from making allegations or disclosures relating to discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment.

Although we do not yet know when these reforms will come into force, employers should anticipate greater scrutiny of confidentiality clauses in employment contracts, settlement agreements and workplace policies.

What should employers be doing now to ensure compliance?

Taken together, these reforms signal a clear shift towards prevention rather than reaction. Tribunals will increasingly expect employers to demonstrate not only that they responded appropriately when issues arose, but that they took meaningful steps to identify and mitigate risks before sexual harassment occurred.

Assess and mitigate risk

It will be crucial for employers to undertake and regularly review risk assessments that set out tailored, proportionate steps that the business should be taking to prevent workplace sexual harassment. Risk assessments should consider the individual workplace’s culture, any customer-facing roles, business travel, social events, remote working, and situations in which power imbalances may arise.

Review policies and reporting channels

In advance of the changes, we advise reviewing anti-harassment, whistleblowing and grievance policies to ensure they align with the new rules.

Employers should also review their internal processes to ensure reporting channels are accessible, particularly regarding harassment by third parties. It may be helpful to develop specific procedures for the handling of complaints involving third parties, recognising that these situations can present unique evidential and practical challenges.

When complaints of sexual harassment do arise, ensure that they are investigated promptly and thoroughly and documented accurately.

Training

It will be important to ensure that regular training is provided for workers and managers and that any training is regularly reviewed and updated.

Now that sexual harassment is a protected disclosure, managers must recognise what constitutes a protected disclosure the moment it is made and how to respond appropriately.

Audit NDAs and template documents

Employers should review their template documentation carefully to ensure it does not inadvertently restrict lawful disclosures relating to harassment or discrimination.

Workplace culture and leadership

The EHRC guidance places considerable emphasis on culture, and this theme runs through the reforms. Employers should recognise that policies and training alone are unlikely to be sufficient. Senior leaders should actively promote a culture in which inappropriate behaviour is challenged, concerns are taken seriously, and workers feel confident reporting issues without fear of retaliation.

Get in touch

Our Employment Team is on hand to guide your organisation through these changes. To find out more about how we can help, contact Harriet Calver or call us on: +44 (0)1172 510 766