Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace – employers take heed

Our Employment Law team deal with a huge increase in allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace as the Christmas party season approaches. This is mainly due to the increased consumption of alcohol as people let their hair down and also lose their inhibitions.

Since October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 has been in force. This means that all employers have a positive legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers in the course of their employment.

Unfortunately, many employers are still unaware that this new Act has come into force.

An October 2025 survey found that 41% of employers have not yet carried out a sexual harassment risk assessment, whilst more than half of employers were concerned that they had not done enough to comply with the Act.

Meanwhile, Acas reported 5,600 harassment-related calls to its helpline between January and June 2025, which represents a 39% increase on the same period in 2024.

A risk assessment should consider what specific circumstances may arise that could result in aa greater risk of harassment. For example, where workers have meetings with third parties such as clients and customers which involve alcohol and overnight stays at conferences.

Once a risk-assessment has been carried out, a tailor-made policy can be drawn up setting out guidelines on what is acceptable behavior. This should include training everyone about what is required. 

We have set out the eight steps that employers need to take on our website here based on the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Sexual Harassment and Harassment at Work Guidance.

Outlining clear steps and duties, including leading by example and calling out any unwanted behavior of a sexual nature, is a good starting point. This, together with clear guidelines on how to raise grievances and procedures which ensure a guaranteed thorough and fair investigation, protect not just those alleging this type of conduct but also those accused unfairly.

Our Employment Team can help you produce a meaningful and bespoke policy for Preventing Sexual Harassment as well as also providing training for managers or entire teams to ensure that everyone is aware of their rights and responsibilities under the law.

The Worker Protection Act is a great example of the law leading the way to positively identify preventative steps to ensure sexual harassment does not happen in the first instance. A 25 percent uplift can be awarded where claims of sexual harassment are successful based on how lax an employer has been.

We all have a part to play in making positive changes. This will help create an environment where the chauvinist and sexist behaviour, including sexual harassment, that I had to endure as a young lawyer, finally becomes a thing of the past.

Martin Searle Solicitors are a community law firm who specialise in Employment Law and Community Care Law. Since they were founded in 2004, they have campaigned to stamp out discrimination in the workplace. Throughout January 2026 they are running their #MeToo Matters campaign to raise awareness about employee rights and employer legal duties around sexual harassment at work – find out more on their website here.

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