Sexual harassment duty and trade union changes start on 30 October
From 30 October 2026, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, and must not permit their harassment by third parties. Changes to trade union access, recognition and representatives’ rights start the same day, under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
What changed
The government’s timeline for the Employment Rights Act 2025, updated on 22 October 2026, confirms that the harassment measures take effect on 30 October 2026. From that date, employers are required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
Employers will also be under an obligation not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties.
The Act gives the minister a power to make regulations later that specify evidence-based steps employers must take to prevent sexual harassment. The timeline says these would complement, not replace, the broader requirement to take all reasonable steps.
Trade union measures start on the same day: a strengthened right of access, reforms to the recognition and derecognition process, new rights and protections for trade union representatives, and extended protection against detriment for taking industrial action.
HRjoy’s view
The new duty is about prevention, not only about responding well when something goes wrong. Employers who can show a current risk assessment, a policy people know about, trained managers and a record of the action they have taken will be in the strongest position. Third-party harassment needs particular thought in customer-facing roles, where staff can be exposed to it every day.
Source
General information for employers in Great Britain, not legal advice.
What to do
- Review your sexual harassment risk assessment and policy, including the risk of harassment by customers, clients, contractors and other third parties. by 30 October 2026
- Brief managers on how to recognise and respond to reports, and make sure staff have a clear, confidential way to raise concerns. by 30 October 2026
- Check that training reflects how harassment could happen in your workplace, and keep a record of the steps you have taken.
- If you recognise a trade union, review your access arrangements and the support you give union representatives.
Related answers
- What does the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment mean for employers? From 30 October 2026, employers in Great Britain must take all reasonable steps, not just reasonable steps, to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. The same date brings a new duty not to permit harassment of employees by third parties such as customers. What counts as reasonable depends on the employer's size, sector, working environment and resources.
- What do the 2026–27 trade union changes mean for employers? The Employment Rights Act 2025 makes recognition and industrial action easier for unions. Several changes already apply, including 10 days' notice of industrial action and simpler recognition. From 30 October 2026 unions gain a statutory right to request workplace access, and from 1 January 2027 employers must tell workers they have the right to join a union. Future dates remain subject to Parliament.
- What is changing under the Employment Rights Act 2025, and when? The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being brought in by phases. Day-one paternity and parental leave, sick pay changes and six-month tribunal time limits already apply. Next come the stronger harassment duties on 30 October 2026, a six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period from 1 January 2027 and fire and rehire protections in March 2027. Future dates remain subject to Parliament.