Preventing harassment in the workplace

Preventing workplace harassment requires attention to where exposure occurs, who may cause it and whether staff can report it safely. A policy is useful only if managers understand and apply the preventive measures behind it.

Assess the actual work setting

Consider customer contact, lone work, travel, social events, alcohol, messaging channels and power imbalances. Identify practical controls for each risk, such as reporting alternatives, event supervision or an escalation route for abusive clients. Do not make the worker responsible for solving repeated customer harassment alone.

Acas explains the current duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Its guidance distinguishes the further changes scheduled for 30 October 2026 from the rules in force on 9 September 2026. ^[1]

Check whether the controls work

Train managers to recognise concerns and respond without retaliation or premature judgment. Review complaints and informal reports for recurring locations, teams or third parties. A low complaint count can reflect a reporting barrier rather than an absence of problems.

Record the risk assessment, actions, training and follow-up. Employee reporting shows the evidence a worker may bring; grievance handling covers a complaint once raised. Update the prevention plan after incidents and organisational changes, rather than waiting for annual policy publication.

Locate the situations in which exposure can occur Map how people interact at work, including supervision, customer visits, travel, events and digital communication. Ask where staff work alone, depend on a powerful individual or may find reporting difficult. A generic office policy can miss risks in late customer appointments or informal messaging groups. Use staff input and previous reports to understand the setting without assuming that a lack of formal complaints proves there is no problem. The prevention plan should identify the actual situations requiring action, with responsibility assigned for each.

Consider who may face particular barriers to raising a concern, such as new starters, temporary staff or people dependent on a manager for shifts. Provide information in a form they can use and make the reporting route available beyond ordinary office hours where the work requires it. Do not make the person exposed responsible for persuading a persistent customer to behave. The employer should decide what support and escalation are available and how a worker can obtain help promptly when a difficult situation arises during the job.

Connect each risk to a practical preventive step For lone client work, consider contact and escalation arrangements appropriate to the activity. For events, identify standards, supervision and a route to raise concerns. For online conduct, explain how work-related channels and personal-device use are addressed. Assess the suitability of each measure rather than copying a checklist and marking every item complete. Acas explains the current preventive duty and the need to act before an incident, with steps assessed in the employer's circumstances. [1] Keep a reasoned record of the measures selected and how they will be implemented.

Include third parties in the risk assessment. Customers, service users and contractors may create exposure even though they are not employees. Consider contractual standards, escalation to account managers and when contact should be restricted or rearranged. The current duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment already requires attention to these risks. Further changes are scheduled for 30 October 2026; do not describe those future provisions as already governing a September incident. Track commencement and obtain advice on the legal effect while maintaining practical prevention measures now.

Train for recognition and response rather than attendance alone Use examples connected to the work so staff can recognise unwanted conduct and understand how to report it. Managers need to know how to receive a concern, preserve information and avoid retaliation or premature conclusions. A training attendance list is useful evidence of delivery, but it does not establish that the content was understood or applied. Check whether managers can identify an alternative route when they are implicated and whether staff know where to obtain help if the usual contact is unavailable.

Make reporting procedures consistent across the handbook, induction and operational channels. Explain confidentiality realistically, including that a fair investigation may require limited disclosure. Allow concerns about risk or near misses to be raised without demanding a formal allegation first. If a report is made, consider immediate arrangements proportionately and assess the complaint through an appropriate fair process. Prevention and investigation are connected but distinct tasks: resolving one allegation should not end the review of conditions that allowed the conduct or discouraged earlier reporting.

Check whether controls change daily practice Review reports for recurring teams, locations, events or third parties while protecting personal information. Ask whether workers feel able to use the route and whether earlier concerns received a response. A falling complaint count may indicate improvement or reluctance to report, so consider other evidence before drawing conclusions. Check whether agreed controls are actually available, such as an escalation contact who answers or event supervision that covers the full event. A measure described in a policy but absent during the relevant activity cannot provide its intended protection.

Update the assessment after an incident, a change in services or a new working arrangement. Record actions, owners, completion and the date effectiveness will be reviewed. Escalate unresolved resource or management issues to someone with authority to address them. Keep the policy, training and risk records aligned with the law in force and the forthcoming October 2026 changes. The employer's evidence should show an active prevention process tied to its workplace, with lessons converted into practical changes rather than an annual document signed and stored without further follow-up.