What You Need to Know About the Preventative Duty for Sexual Harassment – and What’s Changing in 2026
Creating the right workplace culture is key in any organisation including a safe and respectful workplace. However, it is no longer just best practice but a legal obligation. Since October 2024, UK employers have been subject to a strengthened preventative duty around sexual harassment. This has evolved in April 2026, and we are expecting further changes in October 2026, raising the bar even higher.
This blog covers what you need to know and how to prepare.
The Preventative Duty- October 2024
On 26th October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into force. With this Act, a proactive legal duty was imposed on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
This includes employers anticipating risks rather than just responding to complaints, and requiring employers to take action even if no incident had occurred. Failure to comply with the duty can result in enforcement action and increased tribunal compensation (up to 25% uplift of awards).
The law expects employers to:
- Carry out risk assessments
- Implement and update clear anti-bullying and harassment policies
- Provide training for staff and managers
- Take action to prevent repeat incidents
The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) emphasises that this duty is about embedding prevention into workplace culture, not relying on reactive HR processes.
Whistleblowing Protections Strengthened- April 2026
In April 2026, Sexual Harassment became a protected disclosure, this change was carried out under the Employment Rights Act 2025. A protected disclosure, commonly known as whistleblowing, is when a worker reports specific types of workplace wrongdoing that are in the public interest. Under UK law (via the Employment Rights Act 1996 and Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998), eligible workers are legally protected from dismissal or suffering a detriment
What does this mean?
- Reports of sexual harassment that have occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur are now explicitly recognised as whistleblowing.
- Employees raising whistleblowing concerns are protected from:
- Dismissal
- Detriment or retaliation
What should employers now consider?
Complaints about harassment are no longer “just grievances” – they may be legally protected disclosures
Any negative treatment of the individual could lead to automatic unfair dismissal claims.
It is important to ensure Whistleblowing policies are updated to include sexual harassment as a whistleblowing issue.
Employers should also consider providing safe and confidential reporting channels where possible.
The Bar Rises Again- October 2026
In October 2026, the “reasonable steps” will increase to “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment.
What does this increase mean?
Employers must demonstrate that they did everything reasonably possible to prevent sexual harassment occurring.
It will not be enough for employers to just update basic policies and tribunals will assess what more could have been done.
New liability for third-party harassment- October 2026
From October 2026, employers can also be held directly liable for harassment by third parties including:
- Clients
- Customers
- Contractors
- Visitors
Consequences of non-compliance
Failure to take steps to consider, investigate and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace are likely to create significant damage to the organisation and the workplace as a whole. Possible effectives include; creation of a toxic culture, causing reputational damage, difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff and losing customers.
What are the next steps?
You may well be feeling concerned after reading this about what this change in law means for you and how best to address the changes and ensure you are compliant.
This is where Blue Star HR can help. We can produce legally compliant policies relevant to your business and guide you through the implementation of these policies and practices. We can provide training to ensure staff are aware of unacceptable behaviours and how to raise any concerns they may have. We also have experience of supporting clients with completing organisational risk assessments and how the risks can be mitigated and responded to.
For more information, Just Ask!
01473 281650
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