Sexual harassment at work, explained
The short answer
Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates your dignity or creates a hostile, degrading or offensive environment, and is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Since October 2024 employers must take reasonable steps to prevent it, and from 30 October 2026 that becomes "all reasonable steps", with new liability for harassment by customers and others.
Sexual harassment at work is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating your dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you. It is unlawful under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010, and your employer is usually responsible when it is done by a colleague in the course of employment.
Since 26 October 2024, employers have also had a positive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. On 2 October 2026 that is still the test. The government’s timeline says that from 30 October 2026 employers must take “all reasonable steps”, and will be liable for harassment of their employees by third parties such as customers unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. This guide covers Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own law.
What counts as sexual harassment
The Equality Act describes three related kinds of harassment, and two of them concern sex:
- Sexual harassment: unwanted conduct of a sexual nature with the effect described above.
- Less favourable treatment for rejecting or submitting: you are treated worse because you rejected, or gave in to, unwanted sexual conduct or conduct related to sex or gender reassignment.
- Harassment related to sex: unwanted conduct related to your sex that is not necessarily sexual, such as demeaning comments about women or men.
The EHRC’s technical guidance lists examples of conduct of a sexual nature, including:
- sexual comments or jokes
- displaying sexually graphic pictures, posters or photographs
- suggestive looks, staring or leering
- propositions and sexual advances
- promises in return for sexual favours
- intrusive questions about your private or sex life
- sexual posts or contact on social media, and sexual emails or texts
- spreading sexual rumours
- unwelcome touching, hugging, massaging or kissing
The conduct does not have to be sexually motivated, only sexual in nature. It can come from someone of the same or a different sex. A relationship that was once consensual does not make later unwanted conduct acceptable. In judging whether conduct had the required effect, a tribunal considers your perception, the other circumstances, and whether it was reasonable for it to have that effect.
Your employer’s duty to prevent it
The position on 2 October 2026
Section 40A of the Equality Act says an employer must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of its employees in the course of their employment. The EHRC calls this a proactive duty: employers should not wait for a complaint, but should anticipate situations where staff may be harassed and act to prevent it. The EHRC says the duty already covers harassment by third parties, such as clients and customers.
The duty matters in two ways:
- Compensation uplift. If you win a sexual harassment claim and are awarded compensation, the tribunal must consider whether your employer complied with the duty. If it did not, the tribunal can increase compensation by up to 25%, reflecting how far the employer fell short.
- EHRC enforcement. The EHRC can investigate an employer, issue an unlawful act notice and require an action plan.
You cannot bring a claim for breach of the preventative duty on its own. It attaches to a successful sexual harassment claim.
What changes on 30 October 2026
The gov.uk timeline, updated on 25 September 2026, lists three measures for 30 October 2026, and Acas gives the same date:
- employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees
- a new obligation on employers not to permit harassment of their employees by third parties; under the Act, an employer permits it only if it failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it
- a power for ministers to make regulations specifying steps that count as reasonable, which the Act says can cover assessments, policies, reporting and complaint handling
The government adds that future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change. On 2 October 2026 these provisions were not yet in force, so incidents before the commencement date are judged under the current law.
Who is responsible for a colleague’s conduct
The EHRC explains that an employer is liable for harassment by its workers in the course of employment unless it shows it took all reasonable steps to prevent it, meaning there was nothing further it could reasonably have been expected to do. “In the course of employment” can include working from home, offsite, training courses, conferences and some work-connected social events.
What you can do
- Keep a record of each incident: date, time, place, what was said or done, any witnesses, and screenshots of messages.
- Report it to a manager, HR or someone more senior than the person responsible. The EHRC’s guidance says employers should not set a deadline for making complaints.
- Raise a formal grievance if the informal route does not work. See grievances and disciplinaries.
- Watch the time limit and notify Acas for early conciliation in good time.
If you are treated badly for complaining, that can be victimisation, a separate claim. Since 6 April 2026, a disclosure showing sexual harassment can also be a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law.
Time limits and awards
| When the harassment happened | Time limit for most claims |
|---|---|
| Before 1 October 2026 | 3 months minus 1 day |
| On or after 1 October 2026 | 6 months minus 1 day |
Where there was a series of incidents, the time limit runs from the most recent one in your claim. For claims presented on or after 6 April 2026, injury to feelings awards follow bands from £1,300 to £62,900, with exceptional cases higher. Compensation can also cover lost earnings and personal injury.
What to check in your contract or letter
- Anti-harassment or dignity at work policy: whether it mentions sexual harassment specifically, harassment by customers or clients, and who you can report to.
- Grievance procedure: whether you can raise a complaint with someone other than the person involved.
- Social events, travel and lone working rules, since harassment often happens away from the usual workplace.
- Training requirements your employer has set for staff and managers.
- Confidentiality clauses in your contract or a proposed settlement agreement, and whether they would stop you talking about harassment.
- Any warning, transfer or dismissal letter that followed your complaint.
When it helps to speak to a solicitor
Sexual harassment claims can be distressing to bring and often turn on evidence and timing. A solicitor can help you frame a grievance, check which law applies to the dates involved, and advise on any settlement agreement, which needs advice from a relevant independent adviser before it is binding.
Not sure what yours says? Upload your contract or the letter you've been sent, and we'll show you what it gives you, what it asks of you and the deadlines in it, with the wording behind each.
Check my contractCommon questions
What counts as sexual harassment at work?
Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that violates your dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you. The EHRC's examples include sexual comments or jokes, displaying sexual images, leering, sexual advances, intrusive questions about your sex life, sexual messages or social media posts, spreading sexual rumours and unwelcome touching, hugging or kissing. The conduct need not be sexually motivated, only sexual in nature.
What does my employer have to do to prevent sexual harassment?
Since 26 October 2024, section 40A of the Equality Act has required employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment. The EHRC says this is a proactive duty: employers should anticipate when staff might be harassed and act before anything happens. The gov.uk timeline says the duty becomes 'all reasonable steps' on 30 October 2026.
Can I claim if a customer or client sexually harasses me?
On 2 October 2026, the EHRC says the preventative duty already covers sexual harassment by third parties such as customers, but you cannot bring a stand-alone tribunal claim for third-party harassment. From 30 October 2026, the gov.uk timeline says employers will be under a duty not to permit third parties to harass their employees, and will be liable unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.
Can I bring a claim just because my employer had no harassment policy?
No. The EHRC explains that you cannot bring a claim for breach of the preventative duty on its own. If you succeed in a sexual harassment claim and are awarded compensation, the tribunal must consider whether your employer complied with the duty, and can increase compensation by up to 25% if it did not. The EHRC can also take enforcement action against the employer.
How long do I have to bring a sexual harassment claim?
For harassment on or after 1 October 2026, Acas says you have 6 months minus 1 day for most claims; for earlier incidents, 3 months minus 1 day. With a series of incidents, time runs from the most recent one in your claim. You must notify Acas for early conciliation before claiming, which pauses the clock if you do it within the time limit.
Am I protected if I report sexual harassment as a whistleblower?
Since 6 April 2026, a disclosure that tends to show sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur can be a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law. Separately, being treated badly because you complained about harassment can be victimisation under the Equality Act, as long as the complaint was not a false allegation made in bad faith.
Sources
- Equality Act 2010, section 26 (harassment, including sexual harassment) checked Fri Oct 02
- Equality Act 2010, section 40A (duty to prevent sexual harassment) checked Fri Oct 02
- Equality Act 2010, section 124A (compensation uplift) checked Fri Oct 02
- Equality Act 2010, section 27 (victimisation) checked Fri Oct 02
- Employment Rights Act 2025, section 21 (harassment by third parties), not yet in force checked Fri Oct 02
- Employment Rights Act 2025, section 22 (regulations on reasonable steps), not yet in force checked Fri Oct 02
- GOV.UK: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act, timeline update (25 September 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
- Acas: Employment Rights Act 2025 checked Fri Oct 02
- EHRC: Sexual harassment and harassment at work, technical guidance (last updated 26 September 2024) checked Fri Oct 02
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 43B (qualifying disclosures) checked Fri Oct 02
- Acas: Employment tribunal time limits (updated 1 October 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
- Presidential Guidance on injury to feelings: Ninth Addendum (30 March 2026) checked Fri Oct 02
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 203 (settlement agreements: independent advice) checked Fri Oct 02
This guide is general information about employment law in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It isn't legal advice and doesn't take your circumstances into account.