Sexual harassment at work has always been unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. What changed in October 2024 is that employers now have a standalone, proactive duty to prevent it, rather than simply being liable after the event. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 introduced this new duty, and it is worth understanding what it actually means if you are an employee.
What the duty requires
Employers must now take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers in the course of employment. This is a proactive obligation. An employer cannot simply wait for a complaint and then investigate it. They are expected to anticipate the risk of sexual harassment occurring and to have taken reasonable steps in advance to reduce that risk.
What counts as “reasonable steps” will depend on the size and resources of the employer, and on the specific risks in that workplace. Relevant steps can include a clear anti-harassment policy that is actually communicated to staff, training for managers and employees, a proper reporting and complaints procedure, and follow-up action when concerns are raised. A policy that exists only on paper and is never referred to in practice is unlikely to satisfy the duty.
Why this matters if you have been harassed at work
If you bring a successful sexual harassment claim at an employment tribunal, and the tribunal finds that your employer failed in this preventive duty, the tribunal can increase your compensation by up to 25 percent. The uplift applies to the discrimination award itself, not the duty in isolation, so you still need to establish that unlawful harassment occurred.
This is a meaningful change in practice. It means an employer’s response before anything went wrong, or the absence of one, is now directly relevant to the value of a claim. Evidence that an employer had no policy, gave no training, or ignored earlier warning signs can all support an argument that the preventive duty was not met.
Third-party harassment
The duty covers harassment by third parties too, such as clients, customers, or contractors, not only harassment by colleagues or managers. If you have been harassed by someone outside your own organisation while at work, and your employer did nothing to reduce that risk, this is still relevant to the preventive duty.
What to do if you think you have been affected
If you have experienced sexual harassment at work, you are protected under the Equality Act 2010 regardless of your length of service. Keep a record of what happened, including dates, what was said or done, and who else was present. Where possible, raise the matter through your employer’s internal grievance procedure, since this creates a documented account and gives your employer the opportunity to respond, although you are not required to exhaust internal processes before seeking advice.
Time limits for bringing a tribunal claim are strict: normally three months less one day from the act complained of, and you must contact ACAS for early conciliation before a claim can be lodged. If you are unsure whether what happened to you meets the legal threshold for harassment, or how the employer’s preventive duty might affect your position, it is worth speaking to a solicitor promptly rather than waiting.
This article is a general explanation of the law and is not a substitute for advice on your own circumstances.