The Harassment Duty Is Live on Friday. Four Things to Do Now

Duty to prevent sexual harassment: what to do before 30 October

Picture this. It is late, busy, and someone on your team gets a comment that crosses the line. You freeze, look at the queue, and move on. From 30 October, the duty to prevent sexual harassment means you must show what you did to stop this happening in the first place. The duty to prevent sexual harassment is here, with teeth, and it needs action now.

I will keep this calm and practical. No panic. But no sugar-coating either. Here is what changes on the thirtieth, what “all reasonable steps” means in plain English, and the handful of things to sort before the weekend.

What actually changes on 30 October

Two things land together and they work as a pair.

First, the standard goes up. You already have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. From 30 October, the focus turns to taking all reasonable steps. One small word, a higher bar. Reasonable steps let you tick a couple of basics and stop. All reasonable steps ask you to think through every sensible measure you can take, then do it.

Second, the duty now reaches beyond your four walls. A third-party harassment duty makes you responsible for protecting staff from harassment by people outside your business. That includes customers, clients, suppliers, contractors, and members of the public. If someone on your team is harassed by a third party and you have not taken reasonable steps to prevent it, that sits with you as the employer.

There is a sharpener. Where a tribunal finds sexual harassment and decides you did not take all reasonable steps, it can uplift compensation by up to twenty five per cent. Discrimination awards are uncapped. So the cost of getting this wrong is open ended, with a premium on top for not doing the groundwork.

I know that sounds heavy. Here is the good news. Most of what the law asks is sensible, humane, and free. It is what a decent employer wants to do anyway. Let’s turn it into a checklist.

Expert view: “Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that makes someone feel upset, scared, humiliated or offended.” Source: ACAS guidance on sexual harassment at work (https://www.acas.org.uk/sexual-harassment)

What “all reasonable steps” actually means

Strip away the legalese and all reasonable steps come down to five practical moves. No legal department needed. Every small business can make these happen this week.

1. Do a short risk assessment

This is the one most employers skip, and it is the first thing a tribunal will want to see. Keep it simple. Ask where and when staff could face harassment, and by whom. Think about lone workers on home visits, late shifts, repeat offenders, high-risk venues, and the Christmas party on the horizon. Write down the flashpoints and what you will do to reduce each one. That written thought process is your proof that you took the duty to prevent sexual harassment seriously.

2. Update your policy and say it plainly

Your anti-harassment policy must exist, be current, and state clearly that third-party harassment is covered. Spell out that staff have the right not to be harassed by customers, clients, or contractors, and that you will back them. A policy nobody has read is useless. Share it and walk your team through the headline points.

3. Train your people

Everyone needs to know what sexual harassment looks like, that it is not tolerated, and what to do if it happens. Managers need more. How to receive a report calmly, take it seriously, and act. This does not need to be expensive or long. But “we have never spoken about this” is not a position you want to be explaining after the thirtieth.

4. Offer a safe reporting route

People need a way to raise a concern that feels safe and free from blame for “causing a fuss” or “losing a customer”. If the only route is “tell your manager”, you have a problem when the manager is the issue or does not know what to do. A clear, trusted route to speak up is central to the duty to prevent sexual harassment.

5. Act on what you hear

This is the one that matters most. Policies mean nothing if a report lands and nothing happens. Taking all reasonable steps means you respond when someone speaks up, look into it, take action, and never punish the person who raised it. The first time you refuse service to an abusive customer or set a firm boundary with a difficult client, you show your whole team you meant every word.

If you want the longer version, our evergreen guide on the duty to prevent sexual harassment breaks down the legal duty, and our guide on bullying and harassment at work covers wider employer duties.

Expert view: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says employers should take steps such as policies, training, and prompt action on complaints to reduce legal risk. Source: EHRC technical guidance on harassment (https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en)

Third-party harassment, made real

Law feels abstract until you picture it in your business. Here are the kinds of situations this duty is really about.

• A young member of your bar team is groped by a customer on a busy Friday night. A colleague sees it. The customer laughs. The shift carries on because there is a queue and nobody is sure what they can do.
• A care worker visits a client’s home and gets repeated sexual comments. She dreads the visits but says nothing because she thinks it is part of the job.
• A big-spending client belittles the account manager who looks after him. Everyone knows he is difficult. Everyone works around it.

In each case, the old instinct was to smooth it over. Keep the customer happy. Tell the member of staff to grow a thicker skin. From 30 October, that instinct is not only unkind. It is a legal risk. The key question is not “was the harasser your employee?” It is “did you take all reasonable steps to protect your worker?”

Where this meets whistleblowing protections

Here is a vital thread tied to reporting. Since 6 April 2026, reporting sexual harassment can qualify as a protected disclosure under whistleblowing law. In simple terms, someone who raises a concern about harassment, whether it happened to them or to a colleague, can carry the added protection that whistleblowing brings.

That raises the stakes on how you handle a report. If a member of staff reports harassment, including by a third party, and is then treated badly for speaking up, you may now face whistleblowing risks as well as harassment risks. The practical lesson is a wholesome one. Take every report seriously, handle it fairly, and never penalise anyone for raising a genuine concern.

This is where a safe, independent reporting route earns its keep. It gives people somewhere credible to turn, it creates a record that you took concerns seriously, and it helps you show the all reasonable steps you are now expected to evidence. If you want a speak up tool that suits small businesses and gives you that record, take a look at SafeVoice.

One quick note on the wider changes

The thirtieth is not travelling alone. The same date brings trade union changes, including a duty to give workers a standalone written statement of their right to join a union, plus new union access rights. Very small firms under twenty one staff may have exemptions. A tipping consultation is also due to report by year end. I will cover those soon.

Your to-do list before the weekend

Do not try to do everything at once. Do these, in this order.

1. Spend half an hour writing an honest risk assessment of where staff could face harassment, third parties included.
2. Check your anti-harassment policy exists, is current, and clearly covers customers, clients, and contractors.
3. Tell your team, out loud, that they are protected and that you want to know if it happens.
4. Put a safe, trusted way to report in place, especially if the concern involves a manager.
5. Book basic training so nobody can say you never raised it.

Get those five in place and the thirtieth holds no fear. This was always about dignity. Tell your people that they matter and that someone has their back. Do that well and the duty to prevent sexual harassment follows almost on its own.

If you would rather not guess where your gaps are, our HR Health Check takes about five minutes, gives you an instant Red, Amber, Green rating and an emailed report, and shows you what needs attention before the deadline.

If the Health Check comes back amber or red in more than a couple of places, that is a sign the foundation needs rebuilding. Ready for 2027 does exactly that, and today is the last day to buy it. After 31 October there is not enough runway to deliver it properly before January.

I am asked to explain changes like this in the press, from the Guardian and Personnel Today to GB News. You can find links on our press page.

The duty to prevent sexual harassment is live from the thirtieth. The good news is that being ready is about being the kind of employer you want to be. So put the kettle on, spend an hour on it this week, and head into November knowing your people are protected and so are you.

Until next time, keep buzzing and take care of your people.

FAQs

• What is the duty to prevent sexual harassment?
• What counts as “all reasonable steps” for small employers?
• Does the duty cover third-party harassment by customers and clients?
• What should I include in an anti-harassment policy?
• How do I set up a safe reporting route for my team?
• Can reporting sexual harassment count as whistleblowing?