Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy 
This Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy has been written in accordance with current best practice and provides employees with assurance that the company is committed to preventing sexual harassment and victimisation in the workplace. It includes advice on how to confront sexual harassment, through both informal steps and a formal procedure.
Since October 2024, following the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, employers have been legally required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment. Where an employment tribunal upholds a sexual harassment claim against an employer and orders it to pay compensation, the tribunal must consider whether the employer has also breached its duty to prevent sexual harassment and, if it has, may increase the compensation by up to 25%. From 30 October 2026, following the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment, and are also liable for harassment (as defined in the Equality Act 2010, so not only sexual harassment) of their employees by third parties, such as customers or clients, in the course of their employment unless they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.
This policy sets out the company’s commitment to protect its staff from sexual harassment and provides an indicative list of the types of behaviour that it will not accept. To help prevent all aspects of discrimination and harassment in the workplace please download the Harassment and Bullying Policy.
Guidance Notes for both Employers and Employees are also available to download to support the Sexual Harassment and Harassment & Bullying Policies, providing guidelines on how to respond to complaints/reports of harassment and bullying.
The Sexual Harassment Policy also covers third party harassment e.g. harassment by a client or visitor.
This Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy contains the following sections:
- Policy Statement
- Definition of Harassment and Victimisation
- Unlawful Grounds of Sexual Harassment
- Reporting Harassment
- Witnessing Harassment or Victimisation
- Third party harassment
- Procedure for Complaints
- Consequences of Breach
- Responsibilities of Employees and Managers
- Training
- Support and Advice
- Confidentiality
Use this policy with our Prevention of Sexual Harassment Risk Assessment Form, Prevention of Third-Party Harassment Policy and Sexual Harassment Prevention Checklist.
For the timetable of the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms, see our Employment Rights Act Implementation Roadmap.
Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy is part of Employment. Just £42.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
No law requires a policy with that exact name, but Acas recommends a specific policy on sexual harassment, and a clear, well-communicated policy is one of the main steps the Equality and Human Rights Commission expects employers to take. The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy sits alongside the Harassment and Bullying Policy, so sexual harassment gets the focused treatment the law now demands.
It should explain what sexual harassment is, with examples. It should set out how staff can report it (including a route other than their line manager), how complaints will be handled and what happens to anyone who breaches it. It should also cover victimisation, witnesses, harassment by customers and other third parties, training and confidentiality. The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy covers each of these sections.
Yes. From 30 October 2026, an employer is liable if a third party, such as a customer, client or visitor, harasses an employee at work and the employer did not take all reasonable steps to prevent it. Your policy should tell staff that harassment by third parties is covered and how to report it. The Prevention of Third-Party Harassment Policy deals with this risk in more detail.
No. A policy is an important step, but on its own it is unlikely to show that you took all reasonable steps. Staff need to know about it and be trained on it, and you also need to assess the risks, act properly on complaints and check that your measures work. The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Risk Assessment Form and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Checklist help with those steps.
The law sets no fixed review period, so review the policy regularly and whenever something changes: after a complaint, when the way you work changes or when the law changes. The duty is strengthened on 30 October 2026, so this is a good time to check that your policy reflects it. Keep a note of each review and what you changed.