The Employment Rights Act is going to increase the obligations that employers have to take care of members of the team.
A big part of this will involve taking more action to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
With the legislation set to take effect in April 2026, it would be wise for HR teams to start preparing now to improve the well-being of their team.
What are the new obligations to tackle sexual harassment?
From 6 April 2026, sexual harassment will become a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law.
This means that HR teams will need to monitor the capability for employees to whistle-blow about concerns surrounding sexual harassment without fear of reproach.
There cannot be any detrimental impact or unfair dismissal for employees who make a sexual harassment disclosure.
HR teams need to keep in mind that this will apply to those who have witnessed sexual harassment as well as those who have experienced it firsthand.
The law is set to become even more focused on protecting employees, as employers will have a greater need to protect staff from October 2026.
At this point, all reasonable steps must be implemented to protect workers from sexual harassment in the workplace and from third parties that a person interacts with in the capacity of their working day.
HR teams may already be doing some of this, as the current law says that reasonable steps must be taken, but it will soon be necessary to prove that all reasonable steps were taken.
How can HR teams prepare for the new rules around sexual harassment?
The expansion of the whistleblower protections is one of adjusting and updating policy to reflect the new specification, but it should not require much more effort.
The bigger challenge comes in proving that all reasonable steps are being taken to prevent sexual harassment.
It may be necessary to prove that you found no reason to believe that an employee would be at risk when sending them to work with clients or customers.
This means that if you are aware of accusations of improper behaviour in the past, it may be necessary to decline working alongside individuals or businesses if this poses a risk to your own team.
If sexual harassment occurs and the offender is found to have had a public reputation of engaging in such behaviour previously, it will be your company that will need to justify the decision to continue working.
HR teams need to take the well-being of staff and the reputations of clients and customers seriously to ensure that everyone can go to work without fearing for their safety.
