In July 2025, the government introduced a final round of amendments to the new Employment Rights Bill, to strengthen protections against workplace harassment and misconduct. This final set of changes to the Employment Rights Bill 2025 is expected to receive Royal Assent in the autumn, with implementation scheduled from April through October 2026.
In this guide we provide a detailed summary of these latest changes and how employers and employees are affected.
New duty to prevent thirdโparty harassment
Before the July 2025 changes, employers already had a duty under the drafted Employment Rights Bill to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties, such as clients, customers, or service users.
The July 2025 amendment extends this duty to other forms of harassment covered by the Equality Act 2010โsuch as harassment based on race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age, or gender reassignment.
What the new amendment does
The July 2025 amendment, which is planned to take effect in October 2026, expands the law by:
- Inserting a new duty into the Equality Act 2010 (Section 40) that makes employers legally responsible for harassment of their employees by third parties on any protected characteristic, not just sex.
- Creating a new legal test: employers must show they took all reasonable steps to prevent that harassment. This is a higher standard than the existing โreasonable stepsโ test.
The amendment replaces the former โthird-party harassmentโ rule in the Equality Act 2010, which was repealed in 2013. Under that earlier rule, employers were only liable if an employee had already been harassed by the same third party on at least two previous occasions and the employer had failed to act. Under the new amendment, liability can arise from the very first incident of harassment.
Which legislation is amended?
The amendment is made through Clause 20 of the Employment Rights Bill, which updates Section 40 of the Equality Act 2010.
What this means for employers
Employers will need to:
- Assess the risk of third-party harassment across all protected characteristics, not just sexual harassment.
- Update policies and procedures to include third-party conduct.
- Train staff and managers on recognising and reporting harassment from non-employees.
- Put in place controls such as signage, behavioural terms, client-facing protocols, or sanctions for abusive visitors.
- Keep a record of all actions taken to demonstrate compliance with the โall reasonable stepsโ test.
Failing to do this could result in employment tribunal claims, even after a single incident.
What this means for employees
This change offers employees:
- Stronger legal protection if they are harassed by customers, clients, patients, or visitors (not just by colleagues).
- The ability to make a claim under the Equality Act if the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.
- Coverage across all protected characteristics, including race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, and age (not just sex).
This amendment is especially important for those working in public-facing roles, such as in retail, hospitality, health and care, transport, and education.
Explicit inclusion of sexual harassment disclosures as whistleblowing
Currently, employees who raise concerns about workplace wrongdoing can be protected under whistleblowing legislation, but only if the concern qualifies as a “protected disclosure”. For example, exposing a criminal offence, a health and safety risk, or a breach of legal obligation.
In some cases, complaints about sexual harassment have been recognised as protected disclosures, especially where they relate to health and safety or a breach of legal duties. However, this has been a grey area, and employees have often had to rely on legal argument or tribunal interpretation to gain protection.
What the new amendment does
The July 2025 amendment to the Employment Rights Bill removes uncertainty around whether sexual harassment complaints are a protected disclosure by:
- Explicitly adding disclosures of sexual harassment to the list of matters that qualify for whistleblowing protection.
- Confirming that if a worker reasonably believes that speaking up about sexual harassment is in the public interest, they will receive protection under the Employment Rights Act 1996 as a whistleblower.
It is very important to highlight that disclosures of sexual harassment are only protected under whistleblowing law if they meet the โpublic interestโ test. So, if the sexual harassment suggests a wider issue โ like a pattern of misconduct, a senior person abusing power, or a failure in company culture โ it is more likely to meet the public interest test.
This amendment is scheduled to take effect from April 2026.
Which legislation is amended?
Clause 22 of the Employment Rights Bill amends Section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 by adding a new subsection that explicitly states disclosures of sexual harassment can qualify for whistleblowing protection, provided they meet the usual legal tests, such as being made in the public interest and to the appropriate person.
What this means for employers
Employers will need to:
- Update whistleblowing policies to reference sexual harassment disclosures specifically.
- Ensure managers and HR teams are trained to recognise these disclosures and respond appropriately.
- Avoid treating such reports as “grievances only” as doing so could lead to a failure to apply whistleblowing protections.
- Review how disclosures are handled and escalated, including reporting mechanisms and confidentiality protocols.
- Be aware that mishandling a disclosure, for example, dismissing someone for speaking up, could result in a whistleblowing detriment or unfair dismissal claim.
What this means for employees
This change offers employees:
- Clearer legal protection when they report sexual harassment at work.
- Greater confidence to speak up, knowing they may be protected by whistleblowing laws.
- Protection from victimisation or dismissal if they make a qualifying disclosure in good faith and in the public interest.
- A route to raise concerns internally or externally (for example, to a regulator or tribunal) while still being protected under the law.
Ban on NDAs preventing harassment or discrimination disclosures
Clauseโฏ22A of the Employment Rights Bill adds a new section to the Employment Rights Act 1996. It states that any contractual term (for example, in a settlement agreement or employment contract) attempting to prevent a worker from making a disclosure or allegation about workplace harassment or discrimination will be void and unenforceable.
This covers:
- Harassment or discrimination against the worker (or a colleague), and
- How the employer responded, or failed to respond, to those allegations.
Although the exact start date for the ban on NDAs that prevent disclosure of harassment or discrimination has not been confirmed, it is expected to come into force in April 2026, alongside other reforms.
What the amendment does
Before the July 2025 amendment, it was common for confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements to prevent employees from speaking about harassment or discrimination they experienced or witnessed.
The amendment makes it clear that:
- Any clause attempting to gag victims or witnesses of harassment or discrimination (including sexual harassment) is void and unenforceable.
- Employees are free to speak openly, including publicly, about their experiences and about how the employer responded, or failed to respond.
- The ban does not apply to NDAs used for legitimate business purposes (such as protecting trade secrets or confidential commercial information). However, any NDA that tries to silence someone about harassment or discrimination is now unlawful.
This change ensures that NDAs can no longer be misused to cover up serious workplace misconduct.
What this means for employers
- Review and revise all existing settlement agreements and templates to remove confidentiality clauses related to harassment or discrimination.
- Avoid relying on NDAs to prevent public discussion of employment disputes involving harassment.
- Continue using NDAs legitimately, where they protect commercial interests but ensure clauses do not silence misconduct claims.
- Be prepared for potential challenges in reaching confidential settlements, as some employees may still wish for privacy.
What this means for employees
- If an employee has experienced or witnessed harassment or discrimination, no NDA can lawfully silence them from speaking out.
- Employees are free to share their story, internally or publicly, including with media or online, without fear of legal reprisal.
- The amendment covers victims and witnesses and includes disclosure about how the employer responded.
- Even existing NDAs will become unenforceable if they discourage an employee from speaking about protected complaints.
Raised threshold for preventing sexual harassment (โall reasonable stepsโ)
Under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, employers were required to take โreasonable stepsโ to prevent sexual harassment.
However, the July 2025 amendment to the Employment Rights Bill 2025 replaces this with a stricter duty: employers must now take โall reasonable stepsโ to prevent sexual harassment.
This amendment is scheduled to come into force on 1 October 2026, alongside the new duty to prevent third-party harassment.
What the amendment does
Before the amendment, employers could defend a claim of sexual harassment by showing they had taken reasonable steps to prevent it. This was a lower legal standard, and in practice, many employers satisfied the requirement by putting a policy in place or offering basic training. There was no legal obligation to go much further unless a specific risk had been identified.
The July 2025 amendment raises the bar. Employers are now required to demonstrate that they took all reasonable steps, meaning every action that could reasonably be expected in the circumstances, not just a few token measures.
Which legislation is amended?
The amendment is made through Clause 19 of the Employment Rights Bill, which updates Section 40A of the Equality Act 2010 (originally introduced by the Worker Protection Act 2023). It replaces the duty to take โreasonable stepsโ with a stricter requirement to take โall reasonable stepsโ, increasing the legal responsibility on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
What this means for employers
Employers need to take a more proactive and comprehensive approach to preventing sexual harassment. Meeting the โall reasonable stepsโ threshold means going beyond surface-level compliance and demonstrating sustained effort and accountability.
To comply, employers should:
- Review and update anti-harassment policies to ensure they are up to date, clear, and widely understood by staff.
- Deliver regular, role-specific training that is tailored to different levels of responsibility, e.g. leadership, line managers, and general staff, rather than one-size-fits-all sessions.
- Introduce or improve anonymous reporting systems, such as digital platforms or hotlines, to give employees a safe and confidential way to raise concerns.
- Demonstrate senior leadership commitment, such as board-level ownership of anti-harassment initiatives, visible support from executives, and regular internal communications.
- Apply consistent and timely disciplinary action when harassment occurs and follow up with all parties involved to ensure outcomes are clear and trusted.
- Carry out regular risk assessments to identify workplace factors (e.g. isolated working, power imbalances) that may increase the likelihood of harassment.
- Involve employees in shaping a respectful workplace culture. For example, through focus groups, surveys, and consultation on behavioural expectations.
Employers must also document all measures taken, including training records, risk assessments, complaint responses, and cultural engagement activities. This evidence is vital for defending a claim by showing that all reasonable steps were taken.
What this means for employees
The July 2025 amendment strengthens employee protection by requiring employers to adopt a proactive and comprehensive approach to preventing harassment. Employers must demonstrate that they have taken effective measures โ such as regular training, clear reporting systems, strong leadership, and a workplace culture that rejects inappropriate behaviour.
For employees, this means greater confidence in holding employers to account. If harassment occurs, they can ask whether their employer took all reasonable steps to prevent it. Where the answer is no, the employer may face legal liability and lose the protection of the statutory defence.
By setting a higher standard, the amendment provides employees with a clearer route to justice and promotes safer, more respectful, and more accountable workplaces.
Extended tribunal time limit for harassment claims
The July 2025 amendment to the Employment Rights Bill extends the standard time limit for bringing a discrimination or harassment claim under the Equality Act 2010 from three months to six months.
The extension to six months is expected to come into force in October 2026.
What the amendment does
Before the amendment, employees had a very limited window to bring a claim of harassment to an employment tribunal: just three months (less one day) from the date of the last incident. However, individuals dealing with the emotional impact of harassment, navigating internal complaints procedures, or fearing retaliation often needed more time to consider their options and gather the confidence or support needed to act.
Although tribunals had discretion to extend the time limit if it was โjust and equitableโ to do so, this safeguard was applied inconsistently.
After the amendment, the standard time limit to bring a harassment claim increases to six months. This gives employees a more realistic period to:
- Understand their rights
- Seek legal or trade union advice
- Decide how best to proceed, whether through internal resolution or formal legal action.
The โjust and equitableโ extension still exists, but with this longer baseline, fewer individuals will need to rely on it.
Which legislation is amended?
This change is introduced through Clause 21 of the Employment Rights Bill, which amends Section 123 of the Equality Act 2010 (the section that sets out time limits for bringing cases to an employment tribunal). The extension applies specifically to claims involving unlawful harassment, and in some cases, to other forms of discrimination.
What this means for employers
Employers need to adapt internal procedures to reflect the extended six-month tribunal time limit for harassment claims. This means reviewing how long records are retained and how internal investigations align with the longer window for legal action.
Key actions include:
- Being prepared for claims to arise up to six months after the last alleged incident of harassment, meaning the risk period is now twice as long as before.
- Keeping detailed, time-stamped records of any complaints, investigations, decisions, disciplinary action, and follow-up measures. These records may be scrutinised by a tribunal even several months after the incident.
- Retaining relevant evidence for at least 12 months after the conclusion of any harassment-related incident or investigation, to allow for the six-month claim period and any delays in legal proceedings. This includes:
- Emails or written correspondence
- Internal reports or grievance outcomes
- CCTV footage (where applicable)
- Witness statements or meeting notes
- Training HR and line managers to recognise that internal processes (e.g. grievance procedures, mediation, appeals) may now overlap with a longer external claims window. This requires clear communication with employees about timescales and legal rights.
- Updating document retention policies to reflect the new limitation period, particularly for cases involving harassment or discrimination.
What this means for employees
Employees now have more time and flexibility to bring harassment claims. This is particularly important in cases where:
- The incident caused emotional distress or trauma.
- The employee initially chose to raise the issue internally and waited for the outcome before deciding to escalate the matter.
- The employee wase not immediately aware of their rights or did not have access to legal advice.
This amendment gives employees a more realistic window to consider their options and pursue justice through the tribunal system.
Are you ready for Employment Rights Bill 2025 changes?
Our Sexual Harassment in the Workplace for Managers courses provide employees and leaders with the tools to recognise, prevent, and respond to harassment, which supports compliance with the new Employment Rights Bill 2025 duties.
Find out more by clicking on the links above or contacting our friendly team on 0203 011 4242 / info@praxis42.com. We also offer bespoke training, tailoring course content to your employees and organisation.
Adam Clarke
Managing Director (Consulting)
