Every employer in the UK now carries a positive legal duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace before it happens. For owner-managed businesses without a dedicated HR function, working with experienced HR consultants like ours can help ensure they understand what the duty involves and how they can ensure compliance.
Gap HR Services has been advising small businesses on exactly these issues since 2003. Carolyne Wahlen founded the company to give owner-managed organisations across the UK access to the kind of employment law expertise that larger companies take for granted, and we now look after more than 300 clients on retainer. Keeping our clients tribunal free is at the core of what we do, and the new harassment rules are an area where getting it wrong can be expensive.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
What Does The Duty To Prevent Sexual Harassment Require?
The duty was introduced by the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 and came into force in October 2024. It sits within the Equality Act 2010 and requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees during the course of their employment.
The key point is that the duty is now preventative. For years, the law dealt with harassment after the event, once a complaint had been raised. The new duty changes the starting point. Employers are now expected to anticipate where harassment might occur and to act before anyone is harmed. Waiting until something goes wrong and then responding is no longer enough to satisfy the law.
The duty applies to all employers regardless of size or sector. There is no exemption for small businesses, and no pared-down version of the obligation for organisations that cannot afford an HR department.
How Is The Duty Changing In 2026?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 raises the bar in stages across 2026 and beyond, and the changes are substantial.
Since 6 April 2026, a report of sexual harassment has automatically counted as a ‘qualifying disclosure’ under whistleblowing law. An employee who reports harassment is therefore protected from being subjected to detriment or dismissed for having done so, with any such dismissal treated as automatically unfair.
The ordinary whistleblowing tests still apply, so the worker must hold a reasonable belief, and the disclosure must be in the public interest, but the report no longer has to fall into one of the older prescribed categories to gain protection. The aim is to encourage people to raise sexual harassment concerns earlier.
From October 2026, the preventative duty rises from ‘reasonable steps’ to ‘all reasonable steps’. That single extra word lifts the threshold considerably. An employer will need to show not just that it did something, but that it considered and took every measure that could reasonably have been expected.
What Counts As A Reasonable Step?
The legislation does not give a fixed checklist, and what is reasonable will vary with the size of the business, the sector, the working environment and the resources available. What is reasonable for a large retailer will look different from what is reasonable for a small hospitality venue.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published technical guidance and an eight-step guide that together set out what is expected. In practice, the core measures include a clear and accessible anti-harassment policy, a genuine risk assessment, regular training for staff and managers, well-publicised and confidential reporting channels, and a proper process for dealing with complaints. The guidance also makes clear that a step can still be reasonable even if it would not have prevented a particular incident, so the absence of a complaint does not prove that enough has been done.
What Happens If An Employer Breaches The Duty To Prevent Sexual Harassment?
An employee cannot bring legal proceedings against an employer solely for a breach of the duty to prevent sexual harassment. However, if a tribunal upholds a sexual harassment claim and finds that the employer failed to comply with the duty, it can increase the compensation awarded by up to 25 per cent.
That uplift is even more pertinent because there is no cap on compensation for discrimination claims, which includes harassment, so awards can already be significant before any uplift is applied. In addition, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has the power to take enforcement action, including issuing an unlawful act notice, and the reputational damage that follows a harassment claim can be severe.
How Can GAP HR Help?
Since 2003, we have helped owner-managed businesses meet their legal obligations without incurring the cost of employing an in-house HR team. In the context of your duty to prevent sexual harassment specifically, we can review your policies, design a risk assessment that aligns with your workplace, arrange training, and make sure that you have the evidence trail to prove your compliance. If a complaint does arise, we will be alongside you throughout.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
