10 tips to help you prepare for the new third-party harassment duties

Since October 2024, employers have been under a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees during the course of their employment. From 1 October 2026, employers will be required to take “all” reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. A new duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent third-party harassment related to the nine statutory protected characteristics also comes into force on 1 October 2026. Both provisions will significantly increase the expectation and potential liability for employers.

To meet the new statutory requirements, employers will need to take a proactive, evidence-based and risk-led approach to workplace harassment. Reacting to an incident, no matter how robustly, after it has occurred will not be sufficient to protect an employer from liability.

Here are our Top 10 tips for employers on getting ready for the changes:

1. Start with a board-level risk assessment

Treat third-party harassment as an organisational risk, not only an HR issue. Identify where employees interact with third parties, the nature of those interactions, the environments in which they occur, and any factors that increase risk, such as alcohol, lone working, travel, late shifts, home visits, events, online platforms or power imbalances. Where risks are identified, consider introducing safety measures, such as alarms or code words for employees who visit clients alone, signage and recorded phone messages explaining that employees are not expected to tolerate harassment, avoiding lone working in high-risk situations, installing CCTV in public areas, or bodycams in certain roles.

2. Map third-party touchpoints

Go beyond the office and consider all places where work happens: client premises, court or tribunal venues, customer sites, conferences, hospitality, networking events, work-related social events, digital channels and travel. Frontline, junior, temporary, agency and customer-facing staff may face different risks and should be considered specifically.

3. Update policies so they are practical and explicit

Anti-harassment, dignity at work, grievance, whistleblowing, disciplinary, client-facing and health and safety policies should expressly cover third-party harassment and sexual harassment. Policies should explain expected standards, reporting routes, investigation processes, protection from victimisation, consequences for workers and third parties, and how the employer will support affected employees.

4. Move from “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps”

Employers should be ready to evidence why each preventive measure was considered, adopted, rejected or adapted. The practical question should be: “What more could we reasonably have done in this workplace, with these risks, resources and working arrangements?”

5. Embed clear reporting channels

Employees should know how to report concerns informally, formally, anonymously and urgently. Reporting should be simple, accessible and trusted. Make clear that employees can report low-level behaviour, patterns of conduct and incidents involving clients, customers or other third parties, even where they are unsure whether the legal definition of harassment is met.

6. Train managers to act early and consistently

Managers need more than generic equality training. They should understand the new duties, recognise warning signs, respond to disclosures, manage third-party incidents, preserve evidence, avoid victimisation and escalate concerns promptly. Training should be refreshed regularly and tailored to role, seniority and exposure to risk.

7. Train employees on standards, bystander action and support

Employees should understand what harassment can look like, including sexual harassment and harassment related to protected characteristics. Training should cover expected workplace behaviours, bystander intervention, reporting routes, confidentiality, victimisation and what support is available after an incident.

8. Build third-party controls into commercial and operational arrangements

Contracts, client engagement terms, visitor rules, supplier onboarding and event arrangements should set expectations about respectful conduct. Where appropriate, employers should reserve the right to remove individuals from premises, end meetings, refuse service, restrict contact, change account teams or terminate relationships where third parties harass staff.

9. Respond quickly, support the employee and address the source of risk

A good response should include immediate safety and wellbeing measures, clear communication, an impartial investigation where appropriate, action against the third party where possible, steps to prevent recurrence, and protection against retaliation or detriment. Avoid placing the burden on the employee to manage the third party themselves.

10. Monitor, evaluate and keep evidence

Compliance will depend heavily on evidence. Keep records of risk assessments, policy reviews, training attendance, communications, complaints, informal concerns, exit interview themes, staff survey results, actions taken and lessons learned. Review measures regularly and after any incident, organisational change, new client relationship or change in working model.

Implementation checklist

• Nominate a senior owner and create a project plan for compliance before the relevant provisions come into force.
• Complete and document a harassment risk assessment, including third-party risks.
• Refresh policies, reporting routes, investigation procedures and escalation protocols.
• Roll out tailored training for senior leaders, managers and employees.
• Review contracts, client-facing arrangements, visitor procedures and event protocols.
• Agree how the organisation will respond where a client, customer, supplier or other third party behaves unacceptably.
• Set up monitoring arrangements, including staff engagement, data review and periodic policy evaluation.
• Keep a clear audit trail showing the steps considered and taken.

Employment Rights Act check-up

Get ahead of the Employment Rights Act changes with a free check-up from one of our specialist legal advisers. In the short personalised call, we’ll discuss what the changes mean for your organisation and the practical actions to prioritise.

To book your check-up, simply complete this form. We’ll first ask for some essential information so we can arrange your call. You’ll then have the option to complete a short readiness assessment; while these questions aren’t mandatory, the more you tell us about your current approach, the more tailored and valuable your check-up will be.