A recent TUC report found that more than half of women and almost seven in 10 LGBTQ+ workers have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work.
As legally defined by the Equality Act 2010, sexual harassment is the unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates an individual’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment.
The law covers several key points, including:
Sexual harassment can leave victims feeling upset, frightened, humiliated or unsafe and may seriously affect their physical or mental health.
From October 2026, the wording of the Worker Protection Act 2023 will change.
Employers will be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent workplace sexual harassment, rather than simply taking reasonable steps.
The addition of “all” creates a higher threshold, requiring employers to take proactive risk management, systematic planning and preventative action to address sexual harassment at work.
This brings the duty into line with the “all reasonable steps” defence under the Equality Act 2010.
Employer liability will also change, from October 2026, employers may be directly liable if a worker is sexually harassed by a third party.
A third party could include a customer, contractor or client. However, liability will only arise if the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.
Employers will therefore need to look beyond their own workforce and manage risks linked to public-facing interactions.
Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace is already imperative. Our talented team of employment law solicitors are here to help protect your business and employees from sexual harassment.
We can help create robust policies that fit within the needs of your business to keep your employees safe.
Get in touch today for support with workplace sexual harassment.
