How to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Rachel Gordon

September 9, 2026

5 min read

In the UK employees have a legal right to work in an environment that is healthy and safe for all. Employers have a range of legal obligations to ensure that employees are provided with such an environment, including a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to protect employees from sexual harassment. This duty came into force in October 2024 with further amendments following in 2026. In this article we will outline what sexual harassment in the workplace is and provide guidance on how employers should go about preventing and responding to sexual harassment. We will also explain the 2026 changes to the law on sexual harassment.

What Constitutes Sexual Harassment?

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), defines sexual harassment as unwanted behaviour that is of a sexual nature. To constitute sexual harassment the unwanted behaviour must have either violated someone’s dignity or created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for someone. Unwanted behaviour can still constitute sexual harassment even if it was not intended to violated someone’s dignity or intended to create a hostile environment. It also still qualifies as sexual harassment if the intention was to create such an environment but the behaviour did not have the intended effect.

The Equality Act 2010 protects employers, workers, contractors and self-employed people hired to do a job and job applicants from sexual harassment at work. As such, employers are legally obligated to take steps to protect people from sexual harassment in the workplace.

It’s important to remember that sexual harassment can happen to men, women and people of any sexual orientation or gender expression. It can also be carried out by anyone and is not always face-to-face. Sexual harassment can occur in person or online via email or social media.

Examples of unwanted behaviour that can constitute sexual harassment include:

Sexual assault or rape
Making sexual remarks about someone’s body, clothing or appearance
Telling sexually offensive jokes
Displaying or sharing sexual images or content
Touching someone without their consent
Asking questions about someone’s sex life
Making sexual comments or jokes about someone’s sexual orientation or gender reassignment

This list above is not exhaustive however it’s important to have an understanding of the range of behaviours that can constitute sexual harassment. All too often sexual harassment can be dismissed as banter or simply a ‘jovial working environment.’ However, the behaviours listed above can still be sexual harassment and should be recognised as such, not dismissed by minimising the behaviour as a ‘harmless joke.’

Manager Responsibilities

Employers have a legal responsibility to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This legal responsibility was introduced in 2024 through an amendment to the Equality Act 2010. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which came into effect in October 2024, places additional duties on employers to protect their employees from sexual harassment. The Act covers sexual harassment from other people at work and third parties, such as customers and clients, and mandates that employers take action to assess risks and put measures in place to prevent sexual harassment.

Under the Act employers cannot wait until sexual harassment happens in order to act. Moreover, if an employer is found to have not taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) could take action against them. Employers may also have to pay a higher compensation rate if an employee makes a successful claim at a tribunal and it is proven that not all reasonable steps were taken.

As part of their legal responsibilities to prevent sexual harassment Acas suggests that employers/managers:

Consider the risks of sexual harassment happening in their organisation
Consider steps that can be taken to reduce the risks of sexual harassment happening
Consider which of those steps are reasonable to take
Take all of those steps

Examples of the steps that may then be taken to prevent sexual harassment include:

Having a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment that is made clear to employees and all who use an organisation’s services
Encouraging workers to report any incidents of sexual harassment
Introducing ways for workers to get help quickly such as panic buttons or alarms
Providing training so that all staff can recognise sexual harassment
Setting standards of behaviour for work social events
Having the right policies and procedures in place such as a specific policy on sexual harassment
Regularly reviewing policies, procedures and training

Employers are legally obligated to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. One of the most effective ways to do this is with comprehensive training from a trusted provider. High Speed Training’s Sexual Harassment Training Course for Managers and Supervisors and Sexual Harassment Training for Employees provides both employees and managers alike with the knowledge to recognise sexual harassment, how to report it and how to promote a positive and safe working environment in which sexual harassment does not occur.

2026 Harassment Changes

The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law in December 2025 and brought about changes that will happen in 2026 and 2027. Amongst a myriad of additions and amendments, the Act strengthens the law on sexual harassment. These changes will come into effect from 30th October 2026.

The current law on sexual harassment in the workplace states that employers must take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. From 30th October 2026, employers will need to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment.

In the past employers could choose which reasonable steps they would take in order to prevent sexual harassment. From October they will be expected to take them all with no exceptions.

Taking all reasonable steps means:

Taking all the steps that are reasonable for your organisation rather than just some of the steps
Focusing on preventing sexual harassment rather than only reacting to incidents
Steps that apply across the whole organisation, not just actions targeted at people involved in previous incidents

All reasonable steps also includes protecting workers from online and in-person sexual harassment.

An example of taking all reasonable steps could include an employer/manager:

Sharing the organisation’s sexual harassment policy with new employees
Ensuring new employees are signed up for mandatory sexual harassment training
Informing new employees that the organisation does not tolerate sexual harassment
Ensuring that new employees know how to recognise and report sexual harassment

In order to prepare for the new upcoming changes to the law employers should:

Review and update existing policies
Consider creating a standalone sexual harassment policy if one does not already exist
Ensure that employees know how the report sexual harassment and understand they have more than one way to do so
Provide sexual harassment training
Ensure that preventative steps are in place not just reactive policies

How to Deal with a Report of Sexual Harassment

Employers must take any complaint of sexual harassment seriously. They should also ensure that any complaints are handled fairly and sensitively and that they are looked into as soon as possible.

An organisation may have their own sexual harassment policy that clearly outlines the steps that someone should follow. That policy may also include specific details as to how the complaint will be handled, who will be informed and what someone who wishes to make a complaint can expect to happen next. Each business will have their own procedure however good general practice will include the following steps when dealing with a report of sexual harassment:

Talk to the person who made the complaint – Employers should speak to the person who raised the issue in order to understand what happened and what might help to resolve the situation. A person may make an informal complaint to their employer or they may choose to raise a grievance if they feel that it is too serious to raise informally or that raising it informally did not/would not resolve the issue. Speaking to the person can help an employer gauge the severity of the situation and what steps need to be taken next. During the conversation employers should practice active listening as this will help the employee to feel at ease and comfortable to say everything that they wish to.

Keep an open mind – Acas specifies the importance of keeping an open mind during a disclosure of sexual harassment. It’s vital that employers don’t let their own views or feelings influence how they handle a complaint. This is particularly important if the person accused is a senior member of staff, if the employer knows them well, if the employer thinks they are unlikely to have committed harassment or if the employer didn’t personally find the behaviour offensive. Employers must not doubt sexual harassment complaints simply because they themselves don’t find the behaviour unwanted or offensive or because no one witnessed it.

Record the disclosure – Any disclosure or complaint about sexual harassment should be documented according to an organsiation’s own policy. This ensures that the complaint is dealt with consistently and that there is a written record that a business can use to inform policy, strategy and any necessary changes. All reports should be dealt with confidentially however it should be made clear to the person making the complaint who the information may be shared with.

Pursue an investigation – Reports of sexual harassment should be investigated throroughly. The person investigating the complaint should have the appropriate training to do so and should be an impartial figure. It’s important to note that if the complaint or incident has been reported to the police you may have to wait for the criminal process to finish before it can be investigated internally.

Deal with the complaint – An employee can make an informal or formal complaint. Informal complaints do not follow formal grievance procedure steps and can be handled internally according to an organisation’s own policy. Employers should sensitively ask whether the employee would like to raise their complaint formally or informally and they must not push someone to make their complaint informal if they do not wish to. If an employee decides to raise the complaint formally the most appropriate way to handle the situation may be to ask them to raise a grievance. Employers should then follow their own internal grievance procedures which should, at the very minimum, align with the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

The steps above are not exhaustive and there are several considerations that must be kept in mind when dealing with a sexual harassment complaint. You can find more in-depth, step-by-step guidance from Acas here.

If someone makes a complaint about an incident that happened a long time ago, employers must still take it seriously and deal with it as far as they possibly can. There may be limits on how far someone can take their complaint, for example if the accused person no longer works there, if any witnesses no longer work there or if there is no evidence available. However, employers are still expected to investigate any claims made, even if the person making the complaint has run out of time to make a claim to an employment tribunal. In this instance, the person making a complaint should be informed of any potential limits and their accusation should be investigated to the fullest possible extent.

Non-disclosure Agreements

In the past employers have been able to use non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence victims of workplace harassment and discrimination. NDAs were once common place in sexual harassment settlement agreements, effectively silencing victims and preventing them from speaking about their experiences which in turn discouraged others from coming forward. Moreover, as seen in the high profile cases of figures such as Harvey Weinstein, NDAs were frequently imposed by those in positions of power, such as employers, against more vulnerable individuals, such as employees, making any type of fair negotiation effectively impossible.

From April 2026 sexual harassment has been defined as a ‘qualifying disclosure’ under whistleblowing law. This means that employers are legally prohibited from using NDAs to stop someone from whistleblowing about sexual harassment or from reporting a crime, such as sexual assault, to the police.

All employees have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment and employers must uphold their legal responsibilities and provide such an environment. Employers have significant legal duties to protect their staff from sexual harassment and must take all reasonable steps to do so. Failure to take the necessary steps can lead to an unsafe working environment, employment tribunals, sizable fines and a damaged business reputation.