A Jamie HR manager's guide

The manager's readiness checklist for the October 2026 harassment duty

A practical readiness checklist for the strengthened duty to prevent sexual harassment and the new third-party harassment liability duty, both expected from October 2026: what to check, refresh and evidence before the change lands.
EHRC 8-step framework
Evidence reasonable steps
Ready for October 2026

This is a checklist, not a legal explainer.

From October 2026, the duty to prevent sexual harassment is expected to strengthen to all reasonable steps, alongside a new duty covering harassment by third parties such as customers, clients and contractors. This guide works through the practical steps to take now, in the order of the EHRC's employer 8-step guide, so you have evidence in place before the higher standard applies.

What's inside
What's changing from October 20263
Step one: risk assessment4
Step two: policy5
Step three: training6
Step four: reporting channels7
Step five: third parties - customers, clients and contractors8
Step six: evidence and record-keeping9
Step seven: disciplinary policy coverage10
What's at stake: the tribunal consequences11
Your readiness checklist for October 202612
How Jamie HR helps13

What's changing from October 2026

Two changes to the Equality Act 2010 are expected together, and this guide is the checklist for getting ready before they do.
  • Section 20 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens the duty to prevent sexual harassment, amending section 40A of the Equality Act 2010 so employers must take all reasonable steps, rather than reasonable steps, to prevent it.
  • Section 21 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 inserts a new duty into section 40 of the Equality Act 2010: an employer must not permit a third party, such as a customer, client or contractor, to harass its employees in relation to any protected characteristic, unless it has taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.
  • The government's published implementation timeline lists both changes under measures taking effect in October 2026; as of July 2026, no commencement regulation had set the exact day.

Step one: risk assessment

EHRC guidance treats an up-to-date risk assessment as the starting point for showing reasonable steps were taken.
  • Carry out, or refresh, a risk assessment specifically for harassment, rather than relying on a general health and safety assessment.
  • EHRC technical guidance points to risk factors including lone working at client sites, a male-dominated workforce, a workplace culture that tolerates crude language, and settings where alcohol is served.
  • Assess the risk from colleagues, managers and third parties together, since the reasonable steps duty covers all three.
  • Repeat the assessment whenever the workplace changes, for example a new client contract, a restructure or a move to more lone working.
  • Record who carried out the assessment, when, and what it found, so the assessment itself becomes part of your evidence.
Manager tip
Build a short annual review of the risk assessment into your calendar now, so it is already routine before the higher duty takes effect.

Step two: policy

A written anti-harassment policy is one of the EHRC's eight recommended steps, and it needs to reflect the wider duty, not only sexual harassment.
  • Review your anti-harassment policy so it covers harassment relating to any protected characteristic, not only sexual harassment.
  • State plainly that harassment by a third party, such as a customer, client or contractor, will not be tolerated, and explain how a report will be handled.
  • Cross-reference the policy with your grievance and disciplinary procedures, so employees can see how a complaint would be handled.
  • Set a review date for the policy and record when it was last updated and communicated to staff.
  • Share the updated policy with all staff, not only new starters, and confirm they have seen it.

Step three: training

Training is one of the EHRC's eight recommended steps, for all staff, not only new starters.
  • Deliver, or refresh, training for all staff on what harassment is, including third-party harassment, and that it will not be tolerated.
  • Provide separate training for managers on how to recognise and respond to a report.
  • Refresh training on a regular cycle, rather than delivering it once at induction with no update afterwards.
  • Keep a record of who has completed training and when, and diarise the next refresh.
  • Include third-party scenarios in training content, since the new duty specifically covers harassment by customers, clients and contractors.
Manager tip
Diarise refresher training now for later in 2026, so it is completed before, not after, the October commencement.

Step four: reporting channels

Prevention only works if a worker has somewhere to go and knows the report will be taken seriously.
  • Provide a clear, accessible route for a worker to report harassment, including harassment by a third party.
  • Offer more than one reporting channel, including one that does not require reporting to the alleged harasser or their direct manager.
  • Make sure staff working off-site or with third parties know how to report while away from the workplace.
  • Investigate every report and take appropriate action in line with your policy, rather than leaving it unaddressed.
  • Protect the person who reported from victimisation, and make that protection clear to them.

Step five: third parties - customers, clients and contractors

The new duty is specific to harassment by people outside your workforce, so review how those interactions are handled today.
  • Map where your staff have contact with customers, clients, contractors or members of the public, including lone working and off-site visits.
  • Set out, in writing, the standard of behaviour expected of customers, clients and contractors, and how it will be enforced.
  • Give staff a clear route to end an interaction, remove a third party from the premises, or leave a site, if harassment occurs.
  • Extend your reporting and complaint-handling process to cover harassment by a third party in the same way as harassment by a colleague.
  • Review contracts with contractors and agencies for behaviour clauses that reflect your policy.
  • Treat a report of third-party harassment with the same seriousness as one about a colleague, and record the outcome.
Watch out
Third-party harassment liability under section 21 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 applies to harassment linked to any protected characteristic, not only sexual harassment. Review your policy and training accordingly, not only for sexual harassment scenarios.

Step six: evidence and record-keeping

Whether reasonable steps were taken is assessed on what was actually done, so the record of your actions is the evidence.
  • Keep dated records of your risk assessment, policy reviews, training delivery and attendance, and any changes made as a result.
  • EHRC guidance recommends keeping a log for managers to record reported incidents and reviewing it regularly, so patterns can be identified.
  • Store records securely and limit access to those who need them to investigate or decide an outcome.
  • Note the date and outcome of every review, not only the date the document was first created.
  • Keep this evidence up to date on a rolling basis, rather than assembling it only if a claim is made.
Manager tip
Bring your risk assessment, policy, training records and complaint log together in one place now, so you can show what was actually done if a claim is ever brought.

Step seven: disciplinary policy coverage

Your disciplinary policy needs to address harassment by a third party specifically, not only harassment between employees.
  • Check whether your disciplinary policy addresses harassment by a third party, and update it if it currently covers only conduct between employees.
  • Set out what action can be taken in response to third-party harassment, for example raising it with the third party's employer, ending a contract, or refusing entry to premises.
  • Make sure managers know what action is available to them when a third party, rather than an employee, is the source of harassment.
  • Align the disciplinary policy with the anti-harassment policy and reporting routes, so all three point to the same process.
Watch out
A disciplinary policy that only addresses harassment between employees does not cover the situations the new third-party duty is aimed at. Review it alongside your anti-harassment policy.

What's at stake: the tribunal consequences

Being unable to show reasonable steps were taken already has a direct financial consequence, and the standard is rising.
  • Section 124A of the Equality Act 2010, in force since 26 October 2024, lets an employment tribunal increase compensation by up to 25% where it upholds a sexual harassment claim and also finds the employer breached the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent it.
  • The uplift is added on top of compensation that is itself uncapped in a discrimination claim, and the amount must reflect the extent of the breach.
  • From October 2026, the standard the tribunal applies is expected to rise from reasonable steps to all reasonable steps for sexual harassment, alongside the new duty covering third-party harassment linked to any protected characteristic.
  • Whether reasonable steps, or all reasonable steps, were taken is judged on the evidence of what was actually done, so a risk assessment, policy, training record and complaint log carry direct weight.
  • The Equality and Human Rights Commission can also enforce duties under the Equality Act 2010 directly, using its own powers under the Equality Act 2006, separately from any individual's tribunal claim.
Watch out
A tribunal finding that reasonable steps were not taken can increase an already uncapped award by up to 25%. Documented evidence of what you have done is your defence.

Your readiness checklist for October 2026

A summary of the steps covered in this guide:
  • Carry out or refresh a harassment risk assessment covering colleagues, managers and third parties.
  • Review your anti-harassment policy to cover harassment relating to any protected characteristic, including by third parties.
  • Deliver or refresh training for all staff, with separate training for managers.
  • Review your reporting channels, including for staff who work off-site or with third parties.
  • Review how third-party interactions are handled and set out expected standards of behaviour in writing.
  • Keep dated evidence of every step, and check your disciplinary policy covers harassment by a third party.

How Jamie HR helps

Jamie HR keeps your harassment risk assessment, policy, training records and reports in one secure, up-to-date place, ready to show what steps were actually taken.
  • Policy library to hold your anti-harassment and disciplinary policies where every manager and employee can find the current version.
  • Training records so you can show which managers and employees have completed harassment prevention training, and when it is due a refresh.
  • Secure document storage for risk assessments, complaint records and investigation notes, kept confidential and access-controlled.
  • Employee records that hold a clear, timestamped account of any report and the action taken, ready evidence that reasonable steps were followed.
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This guide is general information, accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 2026, and is not legal advice. Employment law changes and every situation is different, so for a specific case take professional HR or legal advice. Sources: legislation.gov.uk, gov.uk and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.