A member of your team tells their manager that a regular customer has been making increasingly personal comments about them.
Nothing particularly dramatic has happened. The customer is important to the business, the employee says they don’t want to “make a fuss”, and the manager isn’t sure whether the behaviour is serious enough to take further.
So they tell the employee to let them know if it happens again.
Has the business done enough?
From 30 October 2026, that question becomes even more important for employers.
The duty to prevent sexual harassment is getting stronger
Employers already have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work. From 30 October, that duty will be strengthened, requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment.
New protections will also apply in relation to harassment by third parties – people who aren’t employed by the business, such as customers, clients, patients, service users and members of the public.
For employers, this means prevention cannot simply begin when somebody makes a complaint.
The focus needs to be on identifying where harassment could happen and taking appropriate steps to reduce those risks before an incident occurs.
What does prevention look like in practice?
Every workplace is different, so the risks will be different too.
A professional services business whose employees regularly visit client premises may face different risks from a restaurant, care provider, retail business or company whose employees work largely from home.
Think about where and how your employees interact with other people. Do they work alone with customers or service users? Attend networking events where alcohol is served? Travel for work? Communicate with clients through messaging apps? Work late shifts or spend time at other organisations’ premises?
A useful risk assessment should consider the reality of how your people work rather than simply relying on a generic checklist.
Once risks have been identified, employers can consider what reasonable preventative measures should be put in place.
A policy alone is unlikely to be enough
Having an up-to-date sexual harassment policy is an important starting point, but a policy sitting in a folder that nobody reads is unlikely to prevent inappropriate behaviour.
Employees need to understand what sexual harassment can look like in practice, what standards of behaviour are expected and how they can raise a concern.
Managers have an especially important role.
If an employee approaches their manager about behaviour that has made them uncomfortable, that first response matters. Managers need to recognise when something may need to be taken further, know how to respond appropriately and understand when to seek additional support.
Going back to our customer scenario, simply waiting to see whether it happens again could leave the employee exposed to further unwanted behaviour. A better response would be to listen, understand what has happened, consider the risks and decide what action is appropriate.
Don’t forget about third parties
The forthcoming changes make third-party harassment particularly important.
Harassment at work doesn’t necessarily come from another employee.
👥 Think beyond employees: customers, clients, contractors, suppliers, patients, service users and members of the public can all create workplace risks.
Employers should therefore think beyond relationships between colleagues when assessing risk.
What situations could leave employees vulnerable? What controls could reduce that risk? Do employees know what to do if a customer behaves inappropriately? Would managers feel confident challenging a valuable client or customer if necessary?
These can be uncomfortable questions, but considering them before something happens puts the business in a much stronger position.
Training should reflect different responsibilities
Effective prevention also means making sure people understand the part they play.
👤 Employees need to: recognise inappropriate behaviour, understand workplace expectations and know how to raise or respond to a concern.
👥 Managers need to go further: understand the strengthened legal duty, identify and manage risks – including those involving third parties – and respond appropriately when concerns are raised.
Training shouldn’t simply be about knowing the law. It should give people the confidence to apply it to situations they could realistically encounter at work.
⚠️ Don’t wait for an incident
The key message for employers is simple: prevention needs to happen before harassment occurs.
Now is a good time to review your existing arrangements. Consider whether your policies remain appropriate, assess the risks within your particular workplace and make sure employees and managers understand both expected standards and their responsibilities.
💡 We can help 💡
HR Surgery offers practical, interactive sexual harassment prevention training designed specifically for employees and managers.
🎓 Our one-hour employee training helps employees understand what sexual harassment looks like in practice, recognise inappropriate behaviour and workplace expectations, and know how to raise or respond to concerns.
🎓 Our two-hour manager training goes further, helping managers understand the strengthened legal duty, identify and manage risks – including those arising from third parties – and respond appropriately when concerns are raised.
🧰 We also offer a Prevention Toolkit, including a risk assessment tool, policy template, practical employer guide and employee communication template.
👉🏼 Is your business ready for 30 October? Get in touch with HR Surgery to discuss the right approach for your workplace.
