All reasonable
steps.
From 30 October 2026, the duty to prevent sexual harassment gets tougher, and employers become liable when customers, clients or contractors harass their staff. Here is what changes, and the two documents that help you prove you acted.
Three things every employer needs to know.
The duty gets stronger
Since October 2024, employers have had to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. From 30 October it becomes all reasonable steps. Doing the obvious things is no longer enough.
Customers now count
You become liable when staff are harassed by customers, clients, contractors or the public, unless you took all reasonable steps to stop it. This covers every protected characteristic, not only sexual harassment.
The stakes are already up
Tribunals can add up to 25% to compensation for breach of the sexual harassment duty. Staff now have six months to bring a claim, and reports of sexual harassment are protected whistleblowing.
Check where you stand.
Then close the gaps.
The Employer Checklist
A two-page self-check. Tick what you can evidence today. Anything unticked is a gap a tribunal could point to.
- Policy and acknowledgement
- Harassment risk assessment
- Training, reporting and complaints
- Third-party controls and records
Anti-Harassment Policy
Updated for 30 October 2026. Ready to brand, adapt and issue to your team.
- Sexual and third-party harassment
- Reporting routes that bypass managers
- Handling, support and victimisation
- Staff acknowledgement form
A policy in a drawer is not all reasonable steps.
A tribunal will ask what you actually did. These are the steps that turn a document into a defence.
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