Harassment and the Employment Rights Act 2025 – what employers need to know

Sexual harassment as a protected disclosure

From 6 April 2026, any disclosure about sexual harassment will explicitly qualify as a protected disclosure under the UK whistleblowing framework. This change updates section 43B of the ERA 1996 with the effect that sexual harassment falls within the definition of a ‘relevant failure’.

Employees will no longer need to frame concerns as a criminal offence, a legal breach, or a health and safety issue in order to be protected. Workers who make qualifying disclosures about sexual harassment (directed at themselves or others) will be protected from detriment, and employees will also be protected from unfair dismissal. These protections apply where sexual harassment has happened, is happening, or is likely to happen.

Government‑cited evidence highlights why this clarity is needed: 26% of people who experience sexual harassment report that it happened at work, and half of affected workers choose not to report incidents due to fear of victimisation, lack of confidence in procedures, or concerns that nothing will change.

All reasonable steps

Since 26 October 2024, employers have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. From October 2026, that threshold will rise: employers must demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. This higher bar reflects a stronger emphasis on proactive risk management, prevention, and demonstrable evidence of action.

Third-party harassment

The October 2026 reforms will also introduce direct employer liability for third‑party harassment. This means employers may be liable if a worker is harassed by clients, customers, patients, service users, contractors, or guests, and the employer has not taken all reasonable steps to prevent it. These protections apply across all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, not just sexual harassment, and are intended to improve safety in customer and client‑facing environments.

NDAs and confidentiality

Once the relevant statutory provisions take effect, any contractual clause that restricts or appears to restrict a worker from raising concerns or making disclosures about sexual harassment will become void. Employers should therefore review and amend:

• settlement agreement templates;
• employment contracts; and
• whistleblowing, grievance, and dignity-at-work policies.

This ensures workers are not misled about their ongoing right to make a protected disclosure in the public interest.

Prevention remains essential

Guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission already stresses that employers must act before an incident occurs. Prevention is an anticipatory duty, meaning organisations must understand the risks specific to (areas of) their business and put effective measures in place.

Employment tribunals will expect employers to show that they have carried out detailed risk assessments and that their steps are tailored, proportionate, regularly reviewed, and updated as risks evolve. Growing awareness is already shaping behaviour: Acas recorded 5,600 harassment‑related calls in the first half of 2025 – a 39% increase year‑on‑year – which suggests workers are increasingly willing to speak up and make claims.

What should employers do next?

Update policies

• Clearly identify sexual harassment as a protected disclosure within whistleblowing and anti‑harassment policies.
• Offer multiple, accessible reporting routes (HR, line manager, confidential inbox/helpline).
• Confirm that workers are protected from detriment when raising concerns.

Train managers

• Equip managers to recognise a protected disclosure at the moment it is made.
• Reinforce how to triage concerns sensitively, maintain confidentiality, and avoid any form of detrimental treatment.
• Ensure training aligns with investigation protocols and record‑keeping requirements.

Map and mitigate risk

• Identify higher‑risk situations, such as customer-facing activities, business travel, social events, and lone or remote working.
• Document existing ‘reasonable steps’ and begin building toward the ‘all reasonable steps’ standard expected from October 2026.

Audit NDAs and templates

• Remove or amend wording that could be seen as restricting protected disclosures.
• Ensure settlement communications clearly explain that workers may still blow the whistle in the public interest.

Evidence governance

• Maintain clear, auditable records: risk assessments, training attendance, actions taken in response to concerns, and reviews of the effectiveness of preventative measures. These records will be essential in defending whistleblowing detriment claims (from April 2026) and demonstrating compliance with the heightened preventative duty (from October 2026).