Electra HR

Free UK employment calculator

Employment Rights Act 2025 readiness checker: harassment duties

Since 30 October 2026 employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and can be liable when customers, clients or contractors harass their staff. Answer five questions to see where you stand and what to fix first.

Figures checked 14 November 2026 · England, Wales and Scotland

Calculator

  1. 01Do your staff deal with customers, clients, contractors, suppliers or the public?
  2. 02Do you have a written harassment risk assessment, covering third parties, reviewed since 30 October 2026?
  3. 03Does your anti-harassment policy cover third parties and tell staff how to report?
  4. 04Have your managers been trained to handle harassment complaints, with a record of it?
  5. 05Do you record incidents, what you did about them, and why you decided against any step you considered?

0 of 5 answered. Your result appears when all five are done.

How it is worked out

Two duties have applied since 30 October 2026. Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their staff (Equality Act 2010, s40A, strengthened by the Employment Rights Act 2025). And an employer must not permit a third party to harass its employees, which means failing to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment by customers, clients, contractors or anyone else it does not employ (s40(1A) to (1C)).

Where a sexual harassment claim succeeds and the prevention duty was breached, a tribunal can add up to 25% to the compensation (s124A). And an employer's defence to a harassment claim against it is showing it took all reasonable steps to prevent it (s109(4)).

The questions follow the steps the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Acas recommend: assess the risk, have a policy and a way to report, train managers, and keep records. Each answer scores 0 to 2. A total of 0 to 2 is green, 3 to 5 amber and 6 or more red. If your staff deal with the public every day and you have no risk assessment or no policy, the result is red whatever the total.

Worked example

A 12-person agency whose staff visit clients every week has a 2023 handbook policy that doesn't mention clients, no risk assessment, and no manager training. That scores 1 + 2 + 1 + 2, plus 1 or 2 for records: red. The fix starts with the free risk assessment template.

Questions employers ask

+What changed on 30 October 2026?

Two things. The duty to prevent sexual harassment became a duty to take all reasonable steps, not just reasonable steps (Equality Act 2010, s40A). And employers became liable for harassment of their staff by third parties, such as customers, clients and contractors, unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it (s40(1A) to (1C)).

+Does this apply to small employers?

Yes. Both duties apply to every employer, whatever its size. What counts as reasonable depends on your size, resources, sector and the risks your staff face, so a small business is not expected to do what a large one does, but it is expected to do what is reasonable for it.

+Is third-party harassment only about sexual harassment?

No. The third-party duty covers harassment related to a relevant protected characteristic, such as race, disability, age, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, as well as sexual harassment.

+What happens if we get it wrong?

If a sexual harassment claim succeeds and the tribunal finds you breached the prevention duty, it can increase compensation by up to 25% (s124A). The Equality and Human Rights Commission can also enforce the duty. Most claims now have six months less one day to be brought.

+What should we do first?

Carry out a written risk assessment that covers third parties. It is the first step in the Equality and Human Rights Commission's guidance, and our free template is built around it. Then close the gaps it finds, in writing, with owners and dates.

+Is this legal advice?

No. It is a self-check to show where the obvious gaps are. Whether you took all reasonable steps depends on the facts. Your answers are not sent to us.

Sources

This calculator gives a general estimate based on the law and statutory figures in force on 14 November 2026 for England, Wales and Scotland. It is not legal advice and does not take account of your contract, your policies or any special circumstances. Contractual terms can give more than the statutory minimum, never less. Northern Ireland has its own rules and limits and is not covered. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere: the sums are done in your browser.