Sexual harassment law is changing again in October 2026: what your business must do now

If you acted on the 2024 rules, you are not finished. A second, tougher wave of sexual harassment law takes effect on 30 October 2026 under the Employment Rights Act 2025, and it changes what employers are actually on the hook for.

Here is what is different, in plain terms.

The duty gets harder. Since October 2024 employers have had to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment. From 30 October 2026 that becomes "all reasonable steps". One word, but a deliberate lift in the bar. Under the old wording you could point at a policy and some training and argue it was reasonable. Under the new wording a tribunal asks whether there was anything further you could sensibly have done, and if there was, you have failed the duty.

Employers become liable for third-party harassment. This is a change many businesses have not prepared for. From 30 October 2026 employers can be liable for harassment of their staff by third parties: customers, clients, contractors, suppliers, patients, service users, passengers and members of the public. The Act treats an employer as permitting third-party harassment only where it occurs in the course of employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it; it is not automatic liability for every act by a customer. It also covers harassment linked to age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation, so it reaches well beyond sexual harassment alone.

Waiting for a complaint no longer counts. The duty is preventative. Acting only once someone has come forward does not satisfy it, and by then the damage is already done.

Why this matters commercially, not just legally. Failing the duty allows an employment tribunal to increase compensation in a successful sexual harassment claim by up to 25 percent, and harassment awards are uncapped, so there is no ceiling on what that percentage is applied to. Beyond the money there is the time your managers lose to a claim, the effect on the people involved, the recruitment cost when good staff leave a workplace that felt unsafe, and the reputational damage of a public judgment. Prevention is a practical risk control, but training alone is not enough to meet the duty. Here is what staff training should cover.

What all reasonable steps looks like in practice. The expectation is a documented cycle rather than a one-off: a risk assessment that identifies where harassment could realistically happen in your workplace, including from third parties; clear, current policies that name the new duty; training for all staff and deeper training for managers who will receive and handle reports; and a record of all of it that would stand up in front of a tribunal. The Act gives ministers power to specify evidence-based steps in later regulations, but that will complement rather than replace the broader duty. Existing official guidance already points employers towards risk assessment, clear policies, reporting routes and training, so waiting is not a plan.

Front line and customer facing teams need particular attention. Retail, hospitality, transport, healthcare, care, leisure and any business where staff deal with the public are exactly where third party harassment happens, and those teams are the ones who most need to know what to do in the moment and how to report it.

How training fits. ProCompliance offers sexual harassment courses for employees, managers and refresher learning, but training is only one part of a wider prevention programme. Sexual Harassment Awareness introduces the preventative duty and third-party harassment. Sexual Harassment for Managers covers receiving a report, investigating fairly and the management role in meeting the duty. A short refresher can support ongoing awareness; its frequency should reflect workplace risk, incidents and change. Bullying and Harassment Awareness and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion round out the wider protected characteristics the third party rules now reach.

The relevant course pages show each course's current accreditation status. Courses are delivered online through The Globe LMS, with completion tracked and a dated certificate issued automatically. That record helps you evidence the training you provided, alongside the wider preventative measures appropriate to your organisation.

April 2026 came first, and it is already in force

The October date gets the attention, but a separate change landed on 6 April 2026 and it is worth knowing about, because it changes what happens when somebody speaks up.

Reporting sexual harassment is now whistleblowing. The Employment Rights Act 2025 added sexual harassment to the list of wrongdoing in section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996, so a worker who discloses it makes a protected disclosure. Before this they had to argue their report fitted an existing category, usually a danger to health and safety. From 6 April 2026 they do not. If they are then dismissed or treated badly for having spoken up, that is a whistleblowing claim, and it applies even where the harassment or the disclosure happened before that date. It covers England, Wales and Scotland; whistleblowing is devolved in Northern Ireland.

What that means in practice is that the reporting route matters as much as the policy. A manager who hears a complaint and mishandles it is no longer just a grievance problem.

What is not changing in October, whatever you have read

Two things are widely reported as October 2026 changes and are not.

Restrictions on non-disclosure agreements are real and are in the Employment Rights Act 2025: a clause that stops a worker disclosing harassment or discrimination will be void. The consultation on how it works closed in July 2026 and the government has said the change takes effect in 2027, not this October. Plan for it, but do not tell your board it lands with the rest.

The criminal offence of sex-based harassment in public is separate law and not an employer duty. It matters to your people, it does not sit in your preventative duty.

30 October 2026 is close. If you have not reviewed your training since the 2024 rules came in, now is the time. Book a demo and we will map the right courses to your team, or ask for a quote and we will send it the same working day.