The New Duty to Prevent Harassment, Including by Customers: What Employers Must Do

From 30 October 2026, two important changes to harassment law apply to every employer, however small. You must take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of your staff, and you can be held responsible when your employees are harassed by customers, clients, contractors or members of the public. If your team deals with the public, visits client sites or works at events, this affects you.

What's changing

• Since October 2024. Employers have had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. If an employee wins a sexual harassment claim and the employer hasn't met this duty, the tribunal can increase their compensation by up to 25%. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can also take action against employers.
• Since April 2026. Reporting sexual harassment can count as whistleblowing, so staff who raise it are protected from being treated badly as a result.
• From 30 October 2026. The duty becomes “all reasonable steps”. Employers can also be liable when employees are harassed by third parties.
• Expected in 2027. The government plans regulations setting out specific steps employers should take, such as assessments, policies and complaint handling. Separate changes to limit the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in harassment cases are also planned, but no date has been set.

What “all reasonable steps” means

It's a higher bar than before. If there was a reasonable step you could have taken to prevent harassment and you didn't take it, you may not have met the duty, even if you did plenty of other things.

What's reasonable depends on your business: its size, resources, the work your staff do and the risks they face. An office of five people won't be expected to do what a large retailer does. But every employer is expected to have thought about the risks and acted on them.

Harassment by customers, clients and other third parties

From 30 October 2026, you can be liable if one of your employees is harassed by someone who doesn't work for you, such as a customer, client, supplier, contractor or member of the public, and you didn't take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

This isn't limited to sexual harassment. It also covers harassment related to age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. A single incident can be enough.

It's particularly relevant if your staff work in hospitality, retail, care, events, or in clients' homes and premises.

Practical steps for a small business

Start with a risk assessment. Think about where and when harassment could happen: roles where staff deal with customers, lone working, late shifts, client sites, work events where alcohol is served, and situations where there's a big difference in power or seniority. Write it down, act on what you find, and review it at least once a year.

Put a clear policy in place, and make reporting easy. Your harassment policy should cover behaviour by colleagues and by third parties, give examples of what's unacceptable, explain how to report a concern and say what will happen next. Make sure everyone has read it. Give staff more than one way to raise a concern, so they don't have to go through a line manager who might be involved, and respond quickly to every report.

Train your team. Everyone should understand what harassment is and how to report it, and managers need to know how to respond when someone comes to them. Keep a record of who was trained and when, and refresh it regularly.

Set expectations with customers and clients. Let them know the standard of behaviour you expect, for example in your terms of business, booking confirmations or a sign at reception. Agree what staff should do if a customer crosses the line, and back them up, including refusing service if necessary.

Act on complaints, and lead by example. Investigate fairly, support the person affected, take appropriate action and keep records. After any incident, review your risk assessment and ask what could stop it happening again. Owners and managers set the tone, so challenge inappropriate “banter” when you hear it. That's how your team knows the policy is real.

For example, a small bar or restaurant might brief staff on what to do if a customer makes inappropriate comments, make sure no one closes up alone after a busy night, display a short notice about expected behaviour, and make it clear that the manager will step in and, if needed, ask the customer to leave.

Your harassment checklist

• Carry out a written harassment risk assessment, including risks from third parties
• Update your harassment policy to cover customers, clients and contractors
• Give staff at least two ways to report concerns
• Train all staff, and train managers to handle complaints, and keep records
• Tell customers and clients what behaviour you expect
• Check your grievance, disciplinary and whistleblowing policies are up to date
• Review everything after any incident, and at least once a year

The EHRC publishes detailed guidance on preventing sexual harassment at work, which tribunals take into account.

How Floreo HR can help

We can write or update your harassment policy, carry out a practical risk assessment with you, train your managers and staff, and support you with fair, confidential investigations if a complaint is made. Our free HR Health Check is a good place to start. For the wider changes, see our guide to the Employment Rights Act 2025.

We support businesses across Hull, East Yorkshire, York, Leeds, Harrogate and Sheffield. Call 01482 765481 or get in touch.

This article is general guidance based on the law and the government's published timetable as at October 2026. It isn't legal advice. Check the latest position on GOV.UK, Acas and the EHRC, or speak to us about your circumstances.