Are Your Staff Ready for the 2026 Sexual Harassment Law Changes?
A policy in a staff handbook will not be enough. From 30 October 2026, UK employers will face stronger legal responsibilities to prevent sexual harassment at work, and the duty will reach beyond employee-to-employee behaviour.
The change means employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, including harassment by customers, clients, contractors and other third parties. For many organisations, that will raise a practical question: do employees and managers know what to recognise, what to report, and how to respond?
This is not only a legal issue. Sexual harassment damages trust, wellbeing, staff retention and workplace culture. It can also expose an organisation to enforcement action and higher Employment Tribunal compensation where the relevant legal conditions are met.
Training is not the whole answer, but it is one of the clearest ways to show that an organisation is acting before problems arise. A well-designed Sexual Harassment in the Workplace eLearning course can help staff understand the law, spot risks early and take the right action with confidence.
What is changing from 30 October 2026?
The new legal position increases the expectations placed on employers. The focus moves firmly towards prevention, not just reacting after a complaint has been made.
Under the new legislation, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. That includes taking steps to prevent harassment by people who are not employees, such as:
Customers
Clients
Contractors
Suppliers
Visitors
Service users
Members of the public who interact with staff
This matters because many harassment risks do not happen neatly within internal teams. They can happen on a shop floor, at a site visit, during a client dinner, on a delivery route, at reception, in a care setting, over email, or in any role where staff interact with others.
The law also raises the stakes. Employers who fail to meet their preventative duty could face enforcement action. Where a sexual harassment claim succeeds and the legal conditions are met, Employment Tribunal compensation may be increased by up to 25%.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Employers should take advice on their own circumstances where needed.
Why the new duty needs action now
October 2026 may feel some way off, but prevention takes time. Organisations need more than a last-minute policy update.
Managers need to understand what “all reasonable steps” could look like in practice. Employees need to know that harassment is not limited to obvious or extreme conduct. Senior leaders need evidence that training, reporting routes and risk controls are in place.
A late response often leads to rushed decisions. A planned response gives time to build better habits.
The most useful preparation usually covers three areas.
Policies need to be current and practical
A policy should explain what sexual harassment is, give realistic examples and set out how concerns can be raised. It should also make clear that the organisation will not tolerate harassment from third parties.
A short, clear policy is usually more useful than a long document that nobody reads. Staff need to understand what behaviour crosses the line and what support is available.
Managers need confidence to act early
Managers are often the first people to hear concerns. They may also be the first to notice a pattern, such as repeated comments from a customer, a contractor making staff uncomfortable, or “banter” that has become sexualised.
If managers do not know what to do, concerns can be missed, minimised or handled inconsistently. Training helps managers respond calmly, record concerns properly and escalate matters through the correct route.
Staff need shared expectations
A safe workplace depends on shared standards. Everyone should know that sexual harassment can include comments, gestures, messages, jokes, images, touching, pressure for dates, intrusive questions, and conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
That includes behaviour sometimes dismissed as “just a joke” or “workplace banter”. If the conduct is unwanted and sexual in nature, it may be harassment.
What staff need to learn before the law changes
Good training should do more than tell people that harassment is unlawful. It should help them recognise real situations and decide what to do next.
An interactive eLearning course works well because staff can complete it at a convenient time, revisit key points and learn through practical examples rather than dense legal text.
A strong course should help staff learn how to do the following.
Recognise sexual harassment in everyday situations
Some forms of harassment are obvious. Others are excused, ignored or normalised over time.
Training should cover examples such as:
Sexual comments about a person’s appearance
Unwanted flirting or repeated requests for dates
Sexual jokes, rumours or innuendo
Sharing sexual images or messages
Intrusive questions about someone’s private life
Unwanted touching or invading personal space
Comments about someone’s body, clothing or sexuality
Pressure linked to shifts, opportunities, tips, work allocation or career progression
The aim is not to make people fearful of normal conversation. The aim is to help staff understand boundaries, context and impact.
Understand the new legal requirements
Staff do not need to become legal experts. They do need a clear understanding that the organisation has a preventative duty, and that everyone has a part to play.
Managers need a deeper understanding because they may need to handle concerns, make quick decisions and support staff who report harassment.
The key message is simple: prevention is active. It means spotting risks, setting standards, acting on concerns and not waiting until harm has already occurred.
Identify harassment involving third parties
Third-party harassment is one of the most important parts of the 2026 change. It can be harder to manage because the person behaving inappropriately may not be directly employed by the organisation.
Examples could include:
A customer making sexual comments to a member of staff
A client sending inappropriate messages
A contractor using sexualised language on site
A regular visitor making staff feel unsafe
A service user repeatedly asking intrusive personal questions
The response may vary depending on the setting, but the principle should be clear. Staff should not be expected to tolerate sexual harassment as “part of the job”.
Why eLearning is a practical way to train the workforce
Face-to-face training has its place, especially for managers and high-risk teams. But interactive eLearning offers several practical advantages, particularly when every member of staff needs a consistent foundation.
A Sexual Harassment in the Workplace eLearning course can give organisations a simple, convenient and cost-effective way to deliver key information across multiple sites, shifts and working patterns.
The course described in the brief combines video, animation and professional voice-over, which can make the subject easier to understand than a static document. Interactivity also helps learners stay engaged and test their understanding as they go.
The most useful eLearning is not passive. It should ask learners to think through realistic scenarios, choose responses and reflect on why certain behaviours are unacceptable.
For example, a scenario might show a member of staff receiving repeated personal comments from a customer. The learner then chooses what the employee, a witness and a manager should do. That type of scenario is more memorable than a paragraph of policy text.
What interactive training can cover well
Interactive eLearning can teach staff how to:
Recognise inappropriate comments, behaviour and sexualised “banter”
Understand the legal changes taking effect from 30 October 2026
Identify harassment involving colleagues, customers and third parties
Respond appropriately when they experience or witness harassment
Report concerns through the right channels
Support colleagues without taking over or investigating personally
Contribute to a safer and more respectful workplace
This kind of training also creates a clearer record of completion. That can be useful when an employer needs to show the steps taken to prevent harassment.
Training records alone will not prove that an employer has done everything required. Still, they are an important part of a wider prevention plan.
Training should sit inside a wider prevention plan
The law refers to taking all reasonable steps, so training should not sit in isolation. It should be part of a broader approach that fits the organisation’s size, sector and risks.
A practical prevention plan may include:
Reviewing and updating the sexual harassment policy
Assessing where harassment risks are most likely to arise
Training all staff, including managers and senior leaders
Creating safe and clear reporting routes
Recording concerns and responses properly
Acting on patterns, even where no formal complaint has been made
Setting standards for customers, clients and contractors
Supporting staff who raise concerns
Refreshing training at suitable intervals
For higher-risk roles, employers may need extra controls. A lone worker who visits customers’ homes will face different risks from a team member in a warehouse, hospitality venue, healthcare setting or remote role.
The right response should reflect the realities of the work. Generic statements rarely change behaviour on their own.
How managers should respond when concerns are raised
A poor first response can make a difficult situation worse. Staff may stop trusting the reporting process if concerns are brushed aside, treated as gossip or handled informally when they need proper attention.
Managers should be trained to respond in a way that is calm, fair and prompt.
A good first response usually means:
Listening without interrupting
Thanking the person for raising the concern
Avoiding blame or judgement
Explaining what will happen next
Keeping information as confidential as possible
Recording the concern in line with the organisation’s procedure
Escalating the matter where required
Checking whether immediate support or safety steps are needed
Managers should also understand what not to do. They should not promise complete secrecy, dismiss the issue as banter, confront the alleged harasser without following procedure, or tell the person reporting the concern to “sort it out” themselves.
Training helps managers practise these decisions before they face them in real life.
What employers should do before 30 October 2026
With the 2026 deadline approaching, employers should start by checking what is already in place. Many organisations will have policies and reporting routes, but they may not be strong enough for the new duty.
A sensible preparation plan could look like this.
Review the current policy
Check whether the policy explains sexual harassment clearly and includes third-party harassment. Make sure it tells staff how to report concerns and what support is available.
Identify risk areas
Look at where staff interact with customers, clients, contractors or the public. Consider lone working, travel, events, site visits, messages outside normal channels and roles where power imbalances may exist.
Train staff and managers
Provide clear training before the law changes. Make sure new starters receive it as part of induction, and keep completion records.
Communicate expectations to third parties
Where relevant, make standards clear to customers, clients, contractors and suppliers. This may include contract terms, visitor rules, signage, customer policies or clear escalation routes.
Make reporting simple
If reporting a concern feels confusing or risky, people may stay silent. Staff should know who to speak to, how to make a report, and what will happen after they do.
Keep evidence of action
Employers should keep records of training, policy updates, risk assessments, communications and actions taken in response to concerns. Good records can help show that prevention has been treated seriously.
Do not leave your business exposed
The new duty is a clear signal that employers must act before sexual harassment happens, not only after a complaint lands. Waiting until 2026 to prepare will leave little time to train staff, update procedures and build confidence across the organisation.
Effective training can help employees and managers understand their responsibilities, recognise unacceptable behaviour and respond in the right way. It also helps create a culture where concerns are taken seriously and people know they will be supported.
An interactive Sexual Harassment in the Workplace eLearning course offers a practical route to prepare the workforce. With video, animation and professional voice-over, it can make a sensitive subject clear, accessible and relevant.
The legal changes are coming on 30 October 2026. The best time to prepare is before the deadline becomes urgent. If you want to try the course first, ask for a preview and see how it could support your organisation’s prevention plan.
