It is now a year since the duty to prevent sexual harassment came into force. Just as employers were getting to grips with their new obligations, the legislative landscape is set to shift again. The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is currently making its final way through Parliament and proposes further employer obligations, raising the bar for compliance even higher.
This article breaks down the current duty, the key changes proposed under the ERB, and the practical steps your organisation should be taking now to prepare.
What Is The Current Duty?
On 26 October 2024 a new preventative duty for employers was introduced via the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023.
This duty requires employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees during their employment. As a preventative duty, employers must proactively identify and mitigate risks rather than simply reacting to incidents after they occur.
While an employee cannot bring a standalone claim solely for a breach of this duty, it carries significant financial and regulatory weight. For example:
- An employment tribunal can increase the employee’s compensation by up to 25% if it finds the employer failed to take the required reasonable steps.
- The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has the power to investigate and take enforcement action against non-compliant employers.
What Are “Reasonable Steps”?
There is still no statutory definition of exactly what constitutes a ‘reasonable step’.
However, the EHRC has updated its technical guidance and offers an eight-step guide on preventative action:
- Develop an effective anti-harassment policy
- Engage staff
- Assess and reduce risks
- Set up a reporting system
- Training
- Handling complaints
- Deal with third party harassment
- Monitor and evaluate actions
What Are The Updates Under The Employment Rights Bill?
The Employment Rights Bill introduces several significant changes, most of which are expected to come into force in 2026 or later. Key proposals as drafted include:
- Strengthening the preventative duty, requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, thereby creating a higher compliance threshold.
- Making employers liable for harassment (not just sexual harassment) during employment by third parties (e.g., customers, contractors).
- Extending the time limit in which employees can bring a claim for harassment from three months to six months (though this may be subject to amendment).
- Explicitly protecting disclosures of sexual harassment under whistle-blowing legislation (i.e., treating reporting harassment as a protected disclosure) and banning/drawing down certain non-disclosure agreement (NDA) clauses in that context.
- Granting the Government the power to introduce regulations that specify exactly what “reasonable steps” are. The Government’s call for evidence regarding this closed on 30 June 2025.
- Extending the regime beyond sexual harassment, possibly to volunteers or other workers, though this remains under consideration.
How Can You Ensure Compliance?
Until regulations clarify what counts as ‘reasonable steps’, the EHRC’s technical guidance remains a key resource. Employers should focus on the following:
Policies
- Review and update your anti-harassment policies regularly.
- Ensure they contain a clear definition of sexual harassment, a clear zero-tolerance statement, and set out a clear reporting procedure.
- Ensure the policy covers harassment not just by employees but also by third parties/customers/others (especially in higher-risk roles).
Training
- Develop tailored training for all staff, including senior managers and any designated workplace champions.
- Training should help staff recognise what harassment looks like, what to do if they experience or witness it, and how complaints will be handled.
- Include specific scenarios involving third parties and power imbalances.
Reporting and Handling Complaints
- Establish clear and accessible reporting channels for any complaints.
- Maintain robust procedures for informal and formal resolution routes, ensuring complaints are handled sensitively, promptly and effectively.
- Ensure that any settlement agreements/NDAs do not prevent a worker from raising or being involved in a report of harassment or discrimination (anticipating the new NDA restrictions).
Risk Assessments
- Conduct targeted and regular risk-assessments to identify specific risk factors within your organisation. The EHRC has stated that an employer is “unlikely to be able to comply with the preventative duty unless they carry out a risk assessment.”
- Treat risk assessments as “live” documents, reviewed periodically.
- When carrying out a risk assessment, consider factors like power imbalances, lone working, night-shifts, public-facing staff, customer/contractor interactions, events with alcohol etc.
Preparing For The Future
While some details of the Employment Rights Bill are still being finalised, the direction of travel is clear: the legal responsibility on employers to prevent harassment is only getting stronger. Proactive preparation is therefore not just best practice but essential to mitigate legal, financial and reputational risks.
