The Employment Rights Act 2025 will also introduce an enhanced duty on employers top take “all reasonable steps” to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees. For information on this change, and steps which employers can take to facilitate compliance with this enhanced duty, please see our related article on the key considerations for employers.

From 30 October 2026, changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“ERA 2025”) will also make employers liable for the harassment of their employees by third parties, where they have failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.

This article explores what will change, considerations for employers and steps that can be taken to facilitate compliance with this new duty which will apply from 30 October 2026.

Employer liability for third-party harassment 

What is changing?

• Currently, an employee is unable to bring a standalone claim for third-party harassment against their employer.
• A claim for third-party harassment was previously available under the Equality Act 2010, where the employer: (i) failed to take steps as would have been reasonably practicable to prevent the harassment; and (ii) knew that the employee had been harassed on at least two other occasions by a third party. However, this was repealed in 2013.

What will change from 30 October 2026? 

• The ERA 2025 will re-introduce employer liability for third-party harassment for all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 (except for pregnancy and maternity and marriage and civil partnership).
• A third-party is anyone other than the employer or an employee of the employer – which includes clients, customers, suppliers, visitors and members of the public.
• For a claim to be successful, an employee must show that: 

1. the third-party harassment took place during the course of their employment; and
2. the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.

• Where a claim of third-party harassment is successful, an employment tribunal may award uncapped compensation. The EHRC may also use its enforcement powers to take action.

Considerations for employers

• Employer liability for third-party harassment could be one of the most significant reforms of the ERA 2025, with employers potentially liable for uncapped claims brought by persons over whom they have little control. Additionally, unlike the existing preventative duty, which is limited to preventing sexual harassment only, employer liability for third-party harassment will cover all protected relevant characteristics, which will require employers to expand their existing measures and processes to prevent harassment of their employees.  
• The duty to prevent third-party harassment is more onerous than the previous regime. There is no longer a ‘three-strikes’ condition, and the requirement for employers to take “all reasonable steps” is greater than the previous “reasonably practicable steps” requirement. However, the government has acknowledged that the steps that an employer can reasonably take in respect of the actions of third parties are clearly more limited than the steps they can take in respect of their employees, and that this will be taken into account by tribunals.
• The way claims of third-party harassment are defended will also potentially differ from ‘normal’ harassment claims (i.e. a claim by an employee that an employee of the employer has harassed them). In such a claim, the evidence will usually centre on whether the harassment took place. However, in many potential claims of third-party harassment, it will be unlikely that an employer will want to, for example, call a customer or member of the public to give evidence on its behalf regarding whether they harassed the employee. Instead, the focus will likely be on the steps taken by the employer to prevent the third-party harassment from occurring in the first place. It will therefore be essential that employers can evidence the steps it has taken to prevent third-party harassment.

What steps can employers take?

Employers should adapt the measures set out in the EHRC Technical Guidance and the 8 step-guide so that they address the risk of third-party harassment. Steps that can be taken by employers include:

• Risk assessment: undertaking a specific third-party risk assessment, or incorporating third-party harassment into existing risk assessments. The risk assessment should identify the roles and scenarios where the risk of third-party harassment is high, and a review of the working area should be undertaken to determine whether any protective measures (such as CCTV or lone-working protocols) could be taken, to reduce the likelihood of harassment.
• Engagement with staff: communicating to staff that third-party harassment will not be tolerated and that allegations of third-party harassment reported will be taken seriously.
• Policies and training: listing examples of third-party harassment and detailing the procedure for reporting third-party harassment and how the employer will respond to complaints of third-party harassment. Staff should be trained on how to deal with such behaviour in the moment where appropriate, as well as when to withdraw from unsafe situations. Managers should also be trained on how to intervene safely and how to support staff.
• Signage and emails: in certain sectors, displaying signage (or stating in email correspondence) that harassment of employees by third parties will not be tolerated, and setting out the consequences for third parties.
• Investigate: investigating allegations of third-party harassment thoroughly, to identify whether the existing steps in place are effective and determine whether further measures can be put in place to reduce the risk of future incidents.
• Contractual provisions: including provisions in contractual agreements with clients/suppliers, detailing the anti-harassment training that the client/supplier will provide to its staff and how complaints of third-party harassment will be investigated and resolved. 

How can we help?

If you would like to discuss how our team of experienced employment lawyers can support your organisation, please get in touch. You can also find further resources on all things ERA 2025 on our ERA 2025 hub.