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ARTICLE · 22 SEPTEMBER 2026

One Incident Could Be Enough: New Harassment Duties From October 2026

BTO Solicitors LLP
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BTO Solicitors LLP

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From October 2026, UK employers will face significantly tougher legal obligations to prevent workplace harassment, including a new duty to protect employees from harassment by third parties such as clients and customers.

United KingdomEmployment and HR
Amanda Buchanan
Amanda Buchanan
Dawn Robertson
Dawn Robertson

From 30 October 2026, employers in the UK will face a tougher legal standard when it comes to preventing harassment at work. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will strengthen the existing preventative duty on sexual harassment and introduce a new obligation in relation to harassment by third parties, such as clients, customers, contractors, suppliers, service users and members of the public.

The focus is moving away from reacting to individual incidents and towards demonstrating a proactive, risk-based approach to prevention. In practice, employers will need to be able to show what they did, why those steps were appropriate, and whether there was anything further they could reasonably have done.

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