Sexual Harassment Prevention: What the EHRC Expects from Employers

The Employment Rights Act 2025 has raised the bar on the actions employers must take to prevent and address sexual harassment in the workplace. From October 2026, employers are required to show that they took ALL reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is now also a protected disclosure under whistleblowing legislation, protecting individuals from victimisation or detriment as a consequence of raising a concern, regardless of whether sexual harassment has happened, is happening, or is likely to happen. Non-disclosure agreements that attempt to restrict disclosure of sexual harassment are now void.

What is sexual harassment under the Employment Rights Act 2025?

Sexual harassment retains its Equality Act 2010 definition, which the Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens through new duties. Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating a worker's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. This includes sexual comments, jokes, innuendo, or propositions, unwanted touching or invasion of personal space, sexualised messages, images, or gestures, repeated comments about appearance, sexual rumours or rating systems, and conditioning opportunities on sexual cooperation.

What does "ALL reasonable steps" mean for employers?

From October 2026, employers must show they took ALL reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and third party harassment. This is a higher bar than the previous "reasonable steps" duty and requires proactive, preventative, systematic, and evidenced action, not just policies or training. The test is not whether the employer tried. It is whether they did everything that was reasonable given their size, resources, and risk profile.

Employers should be able to evidence clear, up-to-date policies covering sexual and third party harassment, regular high-quality training for staff and managers, and visible behavioural expectations communicated to staff, customers, clients, contractors, and service users. They should have safe, confidential reporting routes with multiple access points, prompt and trauma-informed responses to concerns, and risk assessments for high-exposure roles including front-of-house, lone working, fieldwork, and travel. Where action is needed against third parties, including banning or restricting access, that action must be taken and documented. Non-disclosure agreements must be reviewed to ensure nothing misleads workers about their right to disclose sexual harassment.

What does the EHRC expect employers to do?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission sets out its expectations in its Technical Guidance on Preventing Sexual Harassment at Work, which the ERA 2025 aligns with and strengthens. The EHRC expects employers to act before an incident occurs, anticipating risks and putting preventative controls in place rather than waiting to react. Employers must create a culture where harassment is not tolerated, with clear standards of behaviour, visible leadership commitment, consistent consequences for misconduct, and psychological safety for anyone raising a concern.

Training must be practical, scenario-based, and role-specific, refreshed regularly rather than once every few years, evaluated for impact, and tailored to the specific risks of the organisation and its sector. Reporting routes must be robust, with multiple channels, confidentiality, trauma-informed handling of disclosures, and protection from victimisation. Third party risks must be actively managed, with clear expectations set for customers and clients, staff supported when incidents occur, and action taken where needed. Employers are also expected to monitor incidents, identify patterns, review policies and training in response to what they find, and engage staff in continuous improvement.

What training do staff need to meet the ALL reasonable steps standard?

Regular, meaningful training is a core EHRC requirement. Tick-box, off-the-shelf training delivered once every few years will not meet the ALL reasonable steps standard.

For managers, training needs to cover the preventative nature of the duty and the full scope of ALL reasonable steps. Managers need to understand what constitutes sexual harassment, how to assess risk in their environment, and how to respond effectively if an issue arises. Being proactive in prevention is as important as being confident in addressing situations when they occur.

For staff, training needs to go beyond awareness of what sexual harassment is. It should include active bystander techniques and effective intervention skills so colleagues feel equipped and confident to support one another. All staff should be clear on the reporting routes available and the support they can access.

Some organisations also benefit from trained workplace champions who provide an additional layer of support alongside formal routes. A champion's role is not to replace management action or formal reporting, but to offer a safe, non-judgemental space where someone can talk through what has happened and understand their options.

How can we help you prepare for October 2026?

We provide sexual harassment prevention training for managers, staff, and workplace champions, tailored to your sector and your specific risk profile. We also support organisations in reviewing policies, carrying out risk assessments, and ensuring that reporting routes are genuinely accessible and trauma-informed. The EHRC's eight-step employer guide sets out the full framework, and we can work through each step with you. Find out more about our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion training.

Get in touch to discuss your training needs or to talk through what ALL reasonable steps looks like for your organisation ahead of October 2026.