Workplace Harassment has always been an important concern; however, 2025 will be a landmark year in how organizations handle workplace harassment. With the new employer anti-harassment duties coming into effect in the Workplace Harassment Act and related legislation, there is a notable shift in compliance requirements for organizations.
Changes in the workplace harassment prevention law 2025 suggest that businesses need to exercise a far more active role in offering adequate and proper training. In this blog by PixelsHR, we explore the new employer anti-harassment duties for 2025 and what businesses need to do to create and maintain safer, compliant workplaces.
According to the Office for National Statistics, approximately 1 in 10 individuals aged 16 and over in England and Wales experienced harassment that caused them to feel upset, distressed, or threatened in the last 12 months.
What Are the New Employer Anti-Harassment Duties?
In 2025, the legal framework requires businesses to move beyond reactive practices. The new employer anti-harassment duties demand demonstrable, proactive action.
13% of women reported experiencing some form of harassment in the last year, with 23% of women aged 16 to 24 and 16% of those aged 25 to 34 experiencing sexual harassment.
The most significant changes include:
- Preventative Duties Under the Workplace Harassment Act 2025: Employers will need to demonstrate that they are taking “reasonable steps” to act on harassment.
- Expanded Coverage: Employers are now liable for harassment by third parties such as clients, contractors, and visitors.
- Training Obligations: Where HR duties arise from new harassment obligations, employers must provide the same training regularly across all staff.
- Policy Refresh: Employers will need to review and refresh (where necessary) their harassment policy in the UK and globally, to take into account their new obligations for compliance.
- Recordkeeping and Reporting: Employers must keep records of actions taken, training delivered, and enforcement of policy.
These duties show that harassment is no longer a matter between individuals—it is an operational risk that needs to be managed by the organization, not the individual’s responsibilities.
In the year ending March 2024, 8.9% of people aged 16 years and over in England and Wales reported experiencing some form of harassment. This equates to approximately 4.3 million individuals.
Among those who experienced harassment, 26% reported that the incidents occurred at their place of work.
The Proactive Duty: Taking “Reasonable Steps” to Prevent Harassment
One of the most important updates in the workplace harassment prevention law 2025 is the proactive duty. Employers must demonstrate they’ve taken reasonable steps defence harassment actions, meaning they anticipate risks and prevent misconduct before it occurs.
Key actions include:
- Regular risk assessments.
- Comprehensive and updated policies.
- Clear reporting channels for employees.
- Targeted HR training for new harassment duties for managers and employees.
This change ensures organizations cannot plead ignorance—they must show proof of preparation and prevention.
Mandatory, Effective Training and Communication
In 2025, mandatory training has become one of the most critical elements of compliance under the Workplace Harassment Act. Training is no longer just a formality; it must be structured, ongoing, and tailored to the realities of the workplace.
- Training for All: Employees, Leaders, and Contractors
Training is required for everyone- executives, managers, contractors, and temps. Everyone must be held accountable, ensuring that every individual who interacts in the workplace has an understanding of their responsibilities.
- Regular and Ongoing Programs
A one-off induction is insufficient. Training must be delivered regularly, transferring the learning from refresher courses into effective understandings, to adapt to ongoing changes to the workplace harassment prevention law 2025.
- Practical, Role-Specific Learning
Generic slide presentations are insufficient. Programs need to be practical, role-specific, including case studies, examples, and scenarios that employees are actually facing, so they can respond appropriately to real-life situations.
- Clear Messaging and Safe Reporting
Training should also include communication of reporting channels, employees rights, and anti-retaliation protections. Employees need clear directives about how to act, if harassment occurs by co-workers and third parties.
- Record Keeping for Compliance and Defence
Employers also must retain records of training efforts. Proof of participation, materials, and feedback are key to demonstrating compliance, and reinforce a reasonable steps defence against harassment for disputes.
Note: 75% of harassment incidents occurred in person, while 21% occurred online.
Comprehensive Policy Review and Implementation
Compliance is impossible without policies that are current and enforced. Employers in the UK and beyond must focus on updating harassment policies UK requirements in line with 2025 standards.
Best practices include:
- Reviewing policies annually.
- Expanding coverage to include protecting employees from third-party harassment.
- Ensuring policies are accessible and easy to understand.
- Consistently enforcing zero-tolerance standards at all organizational levels.
Effective policy implementation shows both regulators and employees that harassment is taken seriously.
Understanding Liability for Harassment by Third Parties
The law now extends employer liability for harassment to incidents involving third parties. If a client, contractor, or visitor harasses an employee and the business fails to act, the employer can be held accountable.
To comply with workplace harassment prevention law 2025, businesses should:
- Incorporate protecting employees from third-party harassment into policies and contracts.
- Train staff to handle inappropriate behavior from clients and customers.
- Empower managers to step in and stop misconduct.
- Create clear escalation processes for incidents involving outsiders.
This is a major cultural shift: harassment is no longer confined to staff interactions. It includes anyone an employee interacts with during work.
A 5-Step Action Plan for HR and Business Leaders
Meeting the new employer anti-harassment duties requires a structured approach. Here’s a practical action plan:
Step 1: Conduct a Workplace Harassment Risk Assessment
- Identify high-risk areas (customer-facing jobs, remote environments, night shifts).
- Use surveys and feedback to detect hidden concerns.
- Document risks for compliance and action planning.
Step 2: Update and Communicate Policies
- Review policies against the Harassment Act and updating harassment policies UK requirements.
- Ensure policies explicitly cover protecting employees from third-party harassment.
- Share updates across internal channels in plain language.
Step 3: Implement Mandatory HR Training
- Launch HR training for new harassment duties tailored to roles.
- Include manager-specific modules on handling complaints.
- Track completion to strengthen a reasonable steps defence harassment if challenged.
Step 4: Strengthen Reporting and Investigation Mechanisms
- Provide multiple, confidential reporting channels.
- Enforce anti-retaliation protections.
- Standardize investigations to ensure fairness.
- Share anonymized outcomes to build trust.
Step 5: Monitor, Evaluate, and Improve
- Collect and analyze data on complaints and training effectiveness.
- Conduct annual reviews of harassment prevention strategies.
- Adapt policies and practices to align with evolving workplace harassment prevention law 2025.
Women are more likely to experience harassment than men. Specifically, 13% of women reported experiencing at least one form of harassment, compared to 7% of men.
Conclusion
The new employer anti-harassment duties in 2025 are more than just regulatory updates—they are a call to action for a workplace culture change. Employers must incorporate and institutionalize prevention, accountability, and respect into the way we operate on a day-to-day basis if they want to be considered compliant or competitive employers.
At PixelsHR, we believe compliance is a starting place, and best practice leadership is an act of building a workplace culture where employees feel safe, respected and supported. Organizations that act today on their anti-harassment duties will not only be acting on their legal duties, but also build a workplace that is based on trust, inclusivity and long-term success.
