When people hear the phrase sexual harassment at work, many still picture a stereotypical scenario: an older male manager making inappropriate advances towards a younger female employee. While that certainly can happen, the reality is far more complex.

Sexual harassment can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, seniority or background. It can be subtle, indirect, and sometimes experienced by people who were never the intended target.

 

What does the law say?

Under the Equality Act 2010, sexual harassment is defined as unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

For many years, employers have had potential liability where harassment occurs at work. However, the legal landscape has shifted significantly.

Since 6 October 2024, employers have been under a proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the workplace, including harassment by colleagues and third parties such as customers, clients and suppliers.

From 30 October 2026, that obligation becomes even more demanding. Employers will need to show they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. In practice, this means organisations will need to do more than simply have a policy gathering dust in a virtual filing cabinet. They will be expected to actively assess risks, implement preventative measures, provide training, monitor workplace culture and take action where concerns arise.

In other words, the legal expectation is moving from “Have you done something to prevent it?” to“Have you done everything reasonably possible to prevent it?”

 

Common misconceptions

Let’s bust a few myths:

• Myth: Only women experience sexual harassment. Reality: Anyone can be a victim.
• Myth: It only happens between managers and employees. Reality: It can involve colleagues, contractors, customers, clients, or any other third party.
• Myth: It must involve physical contact. Reality: Comments, messages, images, jokes and repeated remarks can all amount to harassment.

 

What sexual harassment can actually look like

Some examples are obvious, for example:

• Repeated requests for dates after someone has said no.
• Sexual comments about appearance.
• Sharing explicit images in workplace chats.

But other examples are more subtle and less obvious:

• A team member constantly referring to a colleague as “work wife” despite their obvious discomfort.
• Sexually suggestive jokes at a Christmas party that leave members of the group embarrassed.
• A colleague or client regularly commenting on an employee’s appearance, for example: ‘you’re looking particularly attractive today!’, or ‘you should come to accounts more often, you’re much nicer to look at than spreadsheets!’.

And here’s the overlooked scenario: the witness.

Picture the scene: a manager thinks they’re the office comedian and makes repeated sexualised jokes about a colleague during team meetings. The colleague gives the kind of laugh that says “please let this end”, while everyone else stares intently at their laptop. Even if the comments aren’t directed at them, anyone at that team meeting could still have grounds to complain about the impact on the workplace environment.

Sexual harassment is much more nuanced that you may think, and all employers need to be aware of this.

 

Preparing for increased regulation

With the introduction of the all reasonable steps standard, employers should be taking action now rather than waiting for a complaint to land on their desk.

Consider the following:

• Carry out and regularly review sexual harassment risk assessments.
• Update policies and reporting procedures, and make sure they are provided to staff, contractors, suppliers and clients to ensure expectations are clearly communicated.
• Deliver meaningful, scenario-based training for all staff and managers.
• Address risks associated with social events, business travel and customer-facing roles.
• Ensure witnesses feel empowered to raise concerns.
• Investigate any concerns promptly and consistently.
• Monitor workplace culture through surveys, audits and feedback mechanisms.
• Keep records of preventative measures taken.

 

The cost of failing to prepare

Failing to prevent sexual harassment can result in:

• Employment Tribunal claims
• Increased compensation awards where employers have failed to meet their legal duties
• Regulatory intervention
• Reputational damage
• Reduced employee engagement and retention
• Difficulties attracting and retaining talent

Perhaps most importantly, it can create a workplace culture where employees feel unsafe, unsupported and unwilling to speak up.

The reality is that sexual harassment is rarely as simple as the stereotypes suggest. It can affect anyone, be committed by anyone, and be experienced by those who happen to be there. As employment law continues to raise the bar on prevention, employers who focus on culture, training and accountability will be in a far stronger position than those relying on a policy written in 2019 and crossed fingers. Saying ‘I can’t imagine it being a problem here’ is not a compliance strategy or defence.

 

If you would like support in implementing measures to prevent sexual harassment in your workplace to ensure you have a robust defence if needed, please get in touch.

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