New Harassment Protections: What Frontline Employers Should Review.
When a member of staff reports repeated sexual comments from a customer/client, the manager has two concerns to address: the complaint itself and what will happen when that customer/client returns. Listening carefully and recording what has happened are important first steps, while the employee also needs to know how they will be supported on their next shift.
Changes introduced on 30th October 2026 strengthen employers’ responsibilities to prevent harassment, including behaviour by customers, clients and other people staff encounter through their work.[1] For organisations with public-facing teams, this is a timely reason to review how their policies translate into everyday decisions.
What has changed?
In England, Wales and Scotland, employers must now take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, strengthening the previous requirement to take reasonable steps. They can also be liable for harassment by third parties where they have failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. These changes do not apply to Northern Ireland, which has separate equality legislation.[2]
The third-party protections cover the forms of harassment recognised by the Equality Act 2010. These include sexual harassment, harassment related to certain protected characteristics and less favourable treatment because of someone’s response to previous sexual harassment.[2][3] A third party might be a customer, client, contractor, patient or service user, and the relevant contact can take place away from the employer’s premises.[4]
This distinction matters because harassment has a particular legal meaning. Sexual comments, unwanted touching or abuse related to someone’s race or disability may fall within these protections, depending on the circumstances. A rude exchange or angry complaint does not automatically amount to harassment under the Equality Act, although it can still raise a serious concern about staff safety.[3][4]
Employers therefore need to understand the different risks their teams face and respond appropriately, without expecting an employee to decide which legal category their experience belongs in before asking for help.
Making prevention part of everyday work
A useful review starts with the places and situations in which staff meet people outside the organisation. A reception desk, a home visit and a late shift in a hospitality venue present different working conditions, so the arrangements for obtaining help need to reflect those differences.
Acas identifies a range of possible measures, including staff safety and de-escalation training, clear expectations for customers and appropriate staffing or safety equipment where the risks call for them. What is reasonable will depend on the organisation and its work.[5]
Nick Attard, General Manager at BR Specialists, says:
“You can have a very clear policy and still leave someone unsure what to do on their next shift. Managers need the confidence and authority to act on what staff tell them, particularly when the person involved is a regular customer or an important client.”
One way to test the arrangements is to work through a realistic situation with the people who would handle it. That discussion can reveal whether a procedure is clear enough to use when someone is distressed or a manager is dealing with several demands at once.
| Area to review | Practical question to answer |
|---|---|
| Contact with the public | Where could staff be exposed to harassment, including during visits, calls or online contact? |
| Assistance during an incident | Who can help, and how is that person reached on each shift or away from the main site? |
| Expectations for customers and clients | How is acceptable behaviour communicated, and who decides what action to take if it is breached? |
| Reporting a concern | Can staff raise an issue through a clear alternative route if their manager is involved? |
| Follow-up | Who checks on the employee and reviews whether further protective measures are needed? |
These questions provide a starting point for a review, rather than a complete assessment of an employer’s legal responsibilities. The answers should lead to clear actions, with someone responsible for putting them into practice and checking that they work.
Reporting arrangements deserve particular attention. Acas advises employers to investigate concerns promptly and sensitively, support those affected and treat anyone accused fairly. Staff should also have a route for raising concerns that does not require them to go through their immediate manager.[6]
That matters when the difficulty involves a valued client, or when a supervisor has previously dismissed behaviour as harmless. Employees need to understand who else they can approach, and managers need to know how to refer a concern while taking appropriate steps to protect staff during the process.
Training can help people recognise concerning behaviour, communicate clearly and understand when to seek assistance. For the related risks of violence and aggression, HSE recommends training that reflects the work identified in the risk assessment, alongside measures such as suitable staffing, workplace design and reliable communication.[7]
There is practical value in including supervisors in that preparation. If an employee asks for help during a difficult interaction, the supervisor needs to understand what support they can provide, what authority they have and when to involve someone else. Working through those decisions together can expose gaps before the team has to rely on the procedure.
At BR Specialists, our Conflict and Aggression Management training covers risk awareness, communication, lone working and reporting and support after an incident.[8] Connecting those skills to the organisation’s own procedures helps teams understand how to use them in their working environment.
The new protections give employers a clear reason to revisit this work now. A useful first step is to ask staff where they feel exposed to unacceptable behaviour, then check whether the support they need is available in those circumstances.
If you are reviewing how your frontline teams respond to conflict and aggression, contact BR Specialists to discuss practical training that supports your wider arrangements for staff safety.
References
- GOV.UK, 30th October 2026. New action to tackle harassment at work.
- Business.gov.uk. Workplace sexual harassment and third-party harassment.
- Acas. What sexual harassment is.
- Acas. Harassment related to protected characteristics.
- Acas. Preventing harassment.
- Acas. Making and handling complaints.
- Health and Safety Executive. Control measures to prevent violence and aggression.
- BR Specialists. Conflict and Aggression Management.