The Duty To Prevent Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

We all want to work in a harassment-free environment – but sexual harassment still happens far too often. What can and should employers do to prevent it?

Employers have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This duty will become "all" reasonable steps from October 2026, along with the introduction of employer liability for harassment by third parties. This requirement has shifted the focus away from dealing with incidents after they happen and instead emphasises creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive work environment.

What counts as "reasonable" can vary by sector and size of business, so it's crucial to understand what this means for your organisation. We can provide guidance and support to help you meet this important standard.

Here is how we can help:

Sexual harassment prevention plan

We are able to offer you a complete service which will enable you to demonstrate that your business has taken steps to identify sexual harassment risks. We will work with you to
identify what reasonable steps are needed and help you to implement them.

This service includes:

• Carrying out a desktop analysis of the risk areas in your business
• Hosting listening exercises to ensure the lived experience of your workforce is considered
• Conducting a risk assessment to identify key issues to address
• Developing an action plan which is bespoke to your needs and your identified risks

Contracts and policies

Policy review: a thorough review of your existing sexual harassment and related policies, ensuring they are robust and comprehensive, and that they meet the requirements of the duty.

Contract review: advice on your employment contracts and commercial agreements to ensure that both your own people and third parties who you deal with are required to comply with the duty.

Training

The role of leaders and managers in providing safe and respectful workplaces: issues in the workplace, including when issues arise with third-party behaviours: an in-person course for those in a leadership position which ensures a full understanding of their responsibilities and how to handle issues in the workplace.

Respect in the workplace and preventing sexual harassment: an in-person course for all staff to ensure everyone understands what sexual harassment is, their responsibilities and how to speak up.

E-learning courses on preventing harassment and sexual harassment: an online version of our in-person course, designed for all staff to highlight the importance of creating and maintaining a safe and respectful working environment.

A separate module can be added to help managers understand their role in preventing sexual harassment and dealing with complaints. Bespoke course options are also available.

Allyship training: a session for all staff to highlight the importance of being an active bystander in the workplace, regardless of seniority, which guides participants through the skills needed to be an ally, to support others and to speak up in the right way.

For more information on training options, please contact our Head of Client Training, Lucy Hendley, or see our training brochure.

Consultancy

Template survey: questions and sample wording you can use to assess the prevalence of sexual harassment in your workplace, identify key risk areas and opportunities for further action and understand the level of awareness of your policies and complaints channels and willingness to speak up about inappropriate behaviour.

Survey management and analysis: we design a survey around your own workplace and provide an analysis of the results and recommendations for next steps – cost agreed in advance.

In-person consultancy: we can provide an experienced Senior HR consultant to work with you to conduct a review, identify areas of priority and develop an action plan.

For more information please contact our Head of HR Consultancy, Lisa Farthing, or see our HR consultancy page.

Risk and impact assessment

Template risk and impact assessment: a template that you can use as a starting point to develop your own assessment of risks and control measures – ask us for more details.

Proactive sexual harassment prevention: culture review and risk assessment to examine your business, assess the risks based on lived experiences and produce a short action plan setting out key priorities for your business to address.

Advice and guidance

Advice on the duty: we can provide you with detailed advice on how to prevent sexual harassment, as well as comprehensive guidance and support if the worst happens and you are facing a serious complaint.

Guardians programme: we can help you to set this up as an effective way to make sure your people feel able to speak up about sexual harassment. The programme trains members of staff to be Guardians – trusted inpiduals who can act as sounding board for colleagues who have something that they might want to share and who can signpost support available within your business.

For more information, please contact Head of Client Training, Lucy Hendley, Karen Baxter, or see our culture training brochure for details.

Other resources

A comprehensive checklist of steps you can follow to help you to prevent sexual harassment as work – ask us for more details

Read our latest insight on taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment: what employers need to know about the duty

Read our insight on preventing sexual harassment: time to review your risk assessment and refresh your training?

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.