Sexual harassment at work: what’s changing in 2026?

In 2026, expectations on organisations to prevent sexual harassment will rise across legal, regulatory and cultural dimensions.

Employers that understand these shifts and who respond proactively will be far better positioned to manage the interconnected risks that sexual harassment represents, than those who don’t. 

The risks sexual harassment presents

When writing about the risks from something like sexual harassment, it’s often too easy to be in thrall to the employment law monster; to put too much focus on the legal/regulatory risks. 

The truth is that estimates from the Government Equalities Office and the TUC suggest that most sexual harassment goes unreported.

Most complaints that do actually get made are investigated. However, the vast majority (of the tiny minority that are complained about) will be compromised or settled. Very, very few progress down a route towards a tribunal or regulatory complaint; meaning that legal and regulatory risks likely only represent perhaps 1 or 2% of the total organisational damage.

A high-profile tribunal or a regulatory fine will be a significant point-in-time shock. But the long-term cultural and wellbeing risks of an evil like sexual harassment carry a far greater weight. So, let’s start there:

1. The silent risks (wellbeing and cultural)

Let’s call these risks silent, because the organisation is likely to be unaware of them; if no-one complains about what’s going on, all the damage is happening under the radar:

• Significant psychological (and physical) harm: on the people directly affected, both short and long term.
  ‍
• Productivity loss and team disruption: increasingly, we’re seeing team morale as an engine of productivity; harassment is the grit in the gears that can bring the engine to a grinding halt. ACAS’s startling research findings, that half (49%) of those touched by workplace conflict report an immediate drop in productivity, are relevant here. Harassment is conflict – whether or not a complaint is made.
  ‍
  
• Wider cultural erosion: tolerating harassment reduces psychological safety (a principal driver of productivity) and signals low accountability for seniors particularly, which enables wider misconduct to thrive.
  ‍
  
• Increasing demographic expectations: younger generations in particular expect a safe, transparent workplace with clear ethical standards. To lure the best talent, employers pitch themselves as great places to work. And then the harassment happens and the facade is shattered.
  ‍
  
• Reputational risks: people increasingly writing about a poor culture on workplace websites/social media, alongside traditional negative media coverage of high-profile events like litigation.

2. The echo risks of poor complaint handling

When a complaint is made, if the organisation botches their handling of the complaint, there are secondary cultural risks:

• Driving sexual harassment back underground: Of the UK employees that have witnessed or experienced sexual harassment, half of them (49%) do not report it. 43% said they were worried about retaliation or retribution.
  ‍
• People losing confidence in its ability to deal with and respond effectively to harassment and sexual harassment allegations: The increased proactive duty and regulatory focus in these areas is raising the bar for employers. More’s expected by the people in your organisation, in terms of how people behave, how people call out what they witness and how employers respond.
  ‍
• ‍A lack of value placed on a trauma-informed and person centered approach: To be trauma-informed means to acknowledge how harassment affects the brain and memory, and conducting a process aimed at not re-traumatising people negatively affected by harassment. This works alongside a person-centred approach, one that prioritises the needs, safety, and agency of the people using the process, not just a focus on the employer’s defence. There is increased recognition that adopting these approaches can not only enhance the employee experience of internal processes, but often improve the quality of the evidence gathered to help inform the outcomes.
  ‍

3. Baseline legal and regulatory exposure

Various parts of the Employment Rights Act 2025 are expected to come into effect in 2026, which will increase expectations on employers:

• In April, we expect disclosing sexual harassment will be explicitly listed as a possible "qualifying disclosure" in the whistleblowing legislation (if it meets the other relevant tests). This will likely encourage more people to speak up about sexual harassment using whistleblowing channels, and will protect them when doing so.
  ‍
  
• In October : 

(a) employers will be obliged to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace (rather than just ‘reasonable steps’);

(b) we expect much-needed clarity on the prevention of third-party harassment; formally extending an employer’s duty of care to protect staff from harassment by non-employees; such as clients, customers, or patients. Often a significant blind spot and very much in line with the "all reasonable steps" standard; and

c) following further consultation, a ban on Non-Disclosure Agreements preventing workers from making allegations or disclosures about harassment or discrimination is expected.

• We also, at some point, expect increased tribunal awards where reasonable steps haven’t been taken (which, employers will probably think matters very little – because so few claims ever get there, and all the damage has already been done!).
  ‍
• From September, the Financial Conduct Authority is extending its Conduct Rules so that serious non-financial misconduct, which includes bullying and harassment, can amount to a regulatory breach across most FCA-regulated firms. Supporting guidance in relation to this also comes into effect.  

What employers need to do this year

The shifts coming in 2026 raise the bar. Employers will need to show, not just state, that they are preventing sexual harassment. ‘All reasonable steps’, may sound like legalese, but the reality is that to prevail in a claim employers will need to prove that they created a safe setting, not that they just reacted well to a complaint.

Our framework below sets out the areas where organisations need to demonstrate strength: leadership, knowledge, managing risk, reporting, data and response.

These are the foundations of “all reasonable steps”, and the areas regulators, tribunals and your people will increasingly pay attention to.

You can see more about our thinking on this here.

‍

How to manage sexual harassment risk effectively

For many organisations, the real challenge is operationalising prevention in a way that stands up to scrutiny. That means building capability, clarity and assurance across the areas in the framework - so you are able to evidence that risks are understood, mitigated and monitored; not just reacted to.

The employers who will meet the new standard aren’t those who patch processes under pressure, but those who treat this as a material people risk and invest in the leadership, data and controls to manage it effectively. Doing so not only reduces the likelihood of harm, but helps create workplaces where people feel safe, respected and able to enjoy their time at work.

We’re working with organisations at all stages of readiness. If you want support in assessing and improving your preventative approach in 2026, we’d be happy to help.

‍