This article is based on insights from Julie Temple, Partner and Head of the Employment Team at Birkett Long solicitors, who is recognised by Legal 500 as a leading individual in employment law.
Drawing on her expertise, Julie Temple explains how the new sexual harassment legislation is strengthening the duty on employers to prevent harassment in the workplace. She explains the key changes, what “reasonable steps” mean in practice, and how organisations and individuals can contribute to building safe, respectful, and inclusive working environments.
New sexual harassment legislation – summary
In October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023introduced a positive legal duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This marks a significant change. Previously, the law concentrated on addressing harassment after it had happened. Now, employers must evidence proactive prevention.
This shift requires more than a written policy. Employers need to provide effective training for managers and employees, establish and communicate clear reporting channels, and ensure leaders consistently model respectful behaviour.
Day-to-day conduct across the organisation must reflect commitments to equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging.
What constitutes sexual harassment?
Under equality law, harassment — including sexual harassment — has three defining elements:
- Unwanted conduct
- A purpose or effect of that conduct
- That purpose or effect violates dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
When assessing a claim, a tribunal applies a vital “check and balance.” It considers the perception of the person experiencing the conduct, the wider circumstances, and whether it was reasonable for the conduct to have had the effect described.
Sexual harassment can take many forms, including:
- Physical – unwanted touching, hugging, or pushing
- Verbal – inappropriate comments, jokes, or “banter”
- Visual – offensive images, posters, or displays on phones and computers
- Written – messages, emails, social media posts, or other materials
- Behavioural/managerial – unfair allocation of work, pressure, or decisions linked to sexualised conduct.
Individuals who engage in harassing behaviour can be personally named as respondents in employment tribunal claims. This element of liability has not changed, underlining the importance of addressing conduct at every level within an organisation.
The new duty — and the risk
Since October 2024, employers have had a new statutory duty to take and evidence reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Organisations must be able to demonstrate that they have embedded prevention through training, reporting mechanisms, leadership behaviours, and day-to-day culture.
If an employer is found to have failed in this duty, an employment tribunal can increase compensation in a related discrimination claim by up to 25%. The impact of such an uplift becomes clear when you look at the types of awards that may apply:
- Basic award – payable only if linked to unfair dismissal.
- Injury to feelings – awarded in bands (the Vento bands), ranging from lower-level cases to the most serious, and capable of exceeding guideline maxima where the facts justify it.
- Financial loss – in discrimination claims, there is no cap on awards for lost earnings, career damage, or pension loss.
Taken together, this means the potential financial exposure for employers is significant, particularly when high-value claims are increased by a further 25%.
Just as importantly, failing to prevent harassment damages workplace culture, undermines trust, and risks serious reputational harm. The bottom line: compliance with the new sexual harassment legislation is both a legal requirement and a cultural imperative.
Equality vs equity: why nuance matters
When it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace, the distinction between equality and equity is important.
Equality focuses on treating everyone the same, but that approach can overlook individual sensitivities, past experiences, or cultural contexts.
Equity goes further, recognising that people respond differently to behaviour and that support may need to be tailored to ensure every individual feels safe and respected.
In practice, this means employers should not dismiss a concern simply because others in the workplace did not view the behaviour as offensive or threatening. A “joke” or casual comment may land very differently depending on someone’s background or personal experiences.
Taking an equitable approach requires leaders and managers to listen carefully, acknowledge those differences, and act to address concerns even when opinions differ.
“More than words”: turning policy into practice
Many organisations have policies that look good on paper but fail to influence day-to-day behaviour. The new duty demands alignment between policy and practice. That includes:
- Challenging inappropriate behaviour when it happens – not remaining silent or being a passive bystander, but addressing remarks, gestures, or actions that could contribute to a hostile environment.
- Calling out sexual harassment unambiguously – making it clear that such conduct is unacceptable, whether it is physical, verbal, written, or visual, and ensuring the person affected feels supported.
- Acting consistently with stated zero-tolerance positions – applying policies fairly and transparently, regardless of the seniority of those involved, so employees can see that commitments to dignity and respect are more than words.
In short, the shift required is from being passively “anti-” harassment to practising active allyship: intervening, advocating, and modelling the right behaviours every day.
Active allyship is also an expression of equity: recognising that individuals experience behaviour differently, taking those differences seriously, and creating a workplace where everyone feels safe and respected.
How to comply with sexual harassment legislation change
Review and update policies
Ensure core policies are fit for purpose, including Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (or Equal Opportunities), Anti-Harassment and Bullying, Grievance, Disciplinary, and Codes of Conduct/Behaviour.
Policies should clearly state zero tolerance of harassment (including sexual harassment), explain how to raise concerns through informal and formal routes, and confirm that sanctions may extend to dismissal.
Review wording so that employees know exactly what behaviours are unacceptable and how issues will be handled.
Communicate and reinforce
Policies only work if people know about them. Circulate updated policies to all employees, highlight the organisation’s zero-tolerance stance, and confirm that harassment and discrimination are unlawful and will be acted upon.
Use team meetings, intranet posts, or newsletters to clarify that everyone has a role in intervening and reporting, not just HR or senior managers.
Deliver training
Provide organisation-wide training to raise awareness of what constitutes harassment and deliver targeted sessions for managers on managing complaints and setting the tone. Use real-world scenarios, role-play, and bystander/allyship techniques to make training relatable.
Refresh training regularly, and make sure to address common flashpoints such as after-work socials, conferences, or away days where boundaries can blur.
Record, act, and report
Keep detailed records of allegations, actions taken, and outcomes. This not only shows compliance but also provides valuable data for boards and senior leadership.
Analyse trends—such as recurring issues in particular teams, locations, or events—and address them proactively.
Review records at least annually, and ideally every six months, to ensure lessons are learned and improvements are made.
Prepare for social settings
Recognise that impromptu drinks, staff parties, or informal gatherings can still fall under “work events” in the eyes of the law. Set expectations in advance of events, communicate them clearly, and remind staff to behave professionally.
Managers should be especially vigilant in these settings, modelling respectful behaviour and intervening early if issues arise.
Support individuals to act
Encourage employees to “see it, name it, and report it” by giving them the confidence and tools to act. This could mean offering simple scripts for challenging inappropriate comments in the moment, providing guidance on how to raise concerns through informal and formal channels, and making sure reporting routes are visible and easy to access.
Promote active allyship by building skills through training and role-play exercises, so employees know how to intervene safely, whether by speaking up directly, checking in with the person affected, or escalating concerns to a manager or HR.
Reinforce the value of keeping notes of interventions or concerns. Employees should be encouraged to record what they saw, when it happened, and how they responded. These records can support individuals if matters escalate and help the organisation demonstrate that it has taken reasonable steps under the new sexual harassment legislation.
Don’t assume “no news” means “no problems”
Survey data suggest only a small minority of those experiencing sexual harassment report it to their employer. One UK study found that 79% of targets did not report incidents.
Low reporting rates often reflect a lack of trust in the system, fear of retaliation, or concern that complaints will not be taken seriously.
Employers can address this by creating multiple safe and confidential reporting channels, such as anonymous online platforms, designated harassment officers, or confidential hotlines. Just as important is visibly demonstrating that when concerns are raised, they are managed fairly, promptly, and without bias. Communicating outcomes, while protecting confidentiality, helps build trust that reporting leads to meaningful action.
Regular employee surveys, pulse checks, or focus groups can also be used to gauge workplace culture and uncover issues that may not be formally reported.
Roles and responsibilities
Tackling sexual harassment in the workplace requires responsibility at every level. The new sexual harassment legislation makes it clear that prevention must be embedded across organisations, teams, and individuals.
Organisations
Employers set the framework by putting robust policies in place, setting clear expectations for behaviour, delivering training, and creating simple reporting routes. They must also ensure processes are fair, transparent, and consistently applied, with consequences for harassment that can extend to dismissal.
Crucially, organisations need to evidence these steps to demonstrate compliance with the law.
Teams and leaders
Line managers and senior leaders are responsible for setting the tone day-to-day. That means modelling respectful behaviour, intervening at the first sign of inappropriate conduct, and providing visible support to those who raise concerns.
Leaders who act quickly and fairly show that zero tolerance is more than a statement on paper.
Individuals
Every employee has a part to play in creating a safe and respectful culture. This includes practising self-awareness, avoiding behaviours that could cause offence, and being prepared to challenge inappropriate behaviour when it arises.
Acting as allies, by supporting colleagues and reporting concerns, helps ensure harassment is addressed, not ignored.
Reflect and plan
Reflection is a crucial part of complying with the new sexual harassment legislation, and it is not a one-off exercise.
Building reflection into regular reviews and personal development planning ensures progress continues and that both organisations and individuals play their part in preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
Organisations
Ask the hard questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to be? What’s our roadmap? This means reviewing existing policies and training, assessing how confident employees feel about reporting concerns, and examining recent data on grievances or complaints.
From there, set clear objectives. For example, increasing reporting confidence scores in staff surveys or ensuring 100% of managers are trained by a certain date, and create a roadmap with measurable milestones.
Embedding reflection into annual HR reviews, leadership discussions, or Board reports keeps prevention high on the agenda.
Individuals
Everyone can reflect on their role by asking: How do I show up? What will I do differently from today? That might involve becoming more aware of how your words and actions could affect others, committing to challenge inappropriate behaviour, or choosing to be a more active ally by supporting colleagues.
Individuals can also set personal goals. For example, attending training, learning bystander intervention techniques, or simply checking in more often with team members to build trust.
How Praxis42 and Birketts Long can help
With the new sexual harassment legislation now in force, it is vital to ensure your organisation is compliant, and confident in its approach.
Praxis42 offers Preventing Sexual Harassment Training for employees and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Training for managers, enabling your workforce to recognise, prevent, and respond appropriately.
For specialist HR and legal support, Birkett Long provides fixed-fee services for policy reviews, grievances, and disciplinaries. Together, these solutions help you demonstrate that you are taking reasonable steps under the law.
For enquiries, pricing, or to discuss rolling out training across your organisation, contact info@praxis42.com or 0203 011 4242
