a person sitting on a couch with his hand on his face

Third party harassment

The Act will reintroduce employer liability for third party harassment for the first time since October 2014, and it appears that employers will have less than a year before this comes into force. 

Presumably, the only defence available to employers will be that they have taken reasonable, or all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment from taking place, but this is far more complicated than preventing sexual harassment from colleagues over whom the employer has a degree of control. The duty to prevent sexual harassment came into force in October 2024. Employers were given 12 months to prepare for the new duty, and many have yet to take reasonable steps – let alone 'all' reasonable steps – to prevent harassment. 

taking notes

The new duty covers all of the relevant protected characteristics, and the harassment could come from customers, clients, suppliers or members of the public.  Employers will need time to prepare for this through training their staff, drafting policies and procedures, notices and protocols.  Guidance from EHRC will be very important, and there is a risk that the guidance will not be forthcoming for some time yet.  Given the potentially significant compensation available to those subjected to harassment, putting appropriate measures in place will need to be a priority for employers.

“The scale of change is unprecedented.”