What is Evidencia - Centralized Whistleblowing & Case Management platform?

La solution SaaS centralisée pour la gestion des cas d'investigation, le lancement d'alertes et la conformité.

What does the Worker Protection Act 2023 actually require of employers?

Since 26 October 2024, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers - a proactive duty that exists independently of any individual complaint. Failing to comply increases tribunal risk even before any harassment claim is raised.

What counts as "reasonable steps"?

Tribunals weigh the time, cost and potential disruption of a measure against its likely benefit, whether the employer knew about harassment risks, and how effective its existing measures have been. EHRC guidance - including the 8-step guide - is the key reference tribunals rely on.

Is a risk assessment legally required?

EHRC guidance states an employer is unlikely to be able to comply with the duty unless it has carried out a sexual harassment risk assessment. It should cover roles, locations, work patterns - including lone working, travel and social events - and any third-party contact.

Does the duty cover harassment by customers or clients?

Yes. The preventative duty extends to harassment by third parties such as customers, clients and contractors, even though an individual worker cannot bring a standalone tribunal claim solely for third-party harassment.

What happens if an employer doesn't comply?

Where a sexual harassment claim succeeds and the employer is found to have breached the preventative duty, an employment tribunal can increase compensation by up to 25%, with no cap on the award. The EHRC can also take separate regulatory enforcement action.

Is this duty mandatory regardless of company size?

Yes - the duty applies to all employers with workers in Great Britain, regardless of size. There is no employee-count threshold, though larger, more resourced organisations face a higher bar for what counts as "reasonable".

How is this different from an employer's obligations before October 2024?

Previously, an employer's "reasonable steps" only mattered as a defence after harassment had already occurred. The new duty is anticipatory: employers must act to prevent harassment before it happens, not just respond well afterwards.

What evidence should employers keep to demonstrate compliance?

A documented risk assessment, an up-to-date anti-harassment policy, records of staff and manager training, logs of reported complaints and how they were handled, and evidence that prevention measures are reviewed and updated. Evidencia timestamps and stores this evidence in one auditable place.

What changes for employers in October 2026?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 brings two major changes from October 2026: the duty to prevent sexual harassment is upgraded from "reasonable steps" to "all reasonable steps" - a materially higher bar - and employer liability for third-party harassment (by contractors, clients, customers or members of the public) is reinstated, covering all protected characteristics, not only sex.

What's the difference between "reasonable steps" and "all reasonable steps"?

Under the 2024 duty, tribunals ask whether an employer took reasonable steps, weighing cost and disruption against benefit. From October 2026, the bar rises: employers must show they took every reasonable step available to them, with nothing further they could reasonably have done. A written policy and one-off training are unlikely to be enough on their own.

Are we liable if a client or customer harasses our staff?

From October 2026, yes - if you failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. This reinstates third-party harassment liability, removed from UK law in 2013, and applies to harassment linked to any protected characteristic (sex, race, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender reassignment), covering contractors, suppliers, clients, customers, patients, service users and members of the public.

Are sexual harassment reports now protected disclosures?

Yes. Since April 2026, disclosures about sexual harassment - whether it has happened, is happening, or is likely to happen - qualify as protected disclosures under UK whistleblowing law, provided the worker reasonably believes the disclosure is in the public interest. This gives reporters statutory protection against detriment or dismissal, alongside the employer's own preventative duty.

Preventing workplace harassment: from the Worker Protection Act 2023 to October 2026

The duty is about to get stronger - built for HR teams at scale

Since 26 October 2024, UK employers have a proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work. From October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 raises the bar to "all reasonable steps" and reinstates employer liability for third-party harassment. Evidencia gives HR Directors at mid-size and large employers the reporting, risk-assessment and audit trail to stay ahead of both.

A duty that's about to get stronger

Workplace Sexual Harassment by the Numbers

52%

Around 52% of women have experienced sexual harassment at work at some point in their career (TUC)

+25%

Employment tribunals can increase compensation by up to 25% where an employer breached the preventative duty

Oct 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 upgrades the duty to "all reasonable steps" and reinstates third-party harassment liability

Why Victims Don't Report - And Why Employers Are Now Exposed

The barriers to reporting, and the new compliance gaps the law targets

Fear of retaliation

Victims dare not report for fear of losing their job or being ostracised

Hard to prove

Harassment is often insidious, and evidence is lacking without a structured process

Nothing to show a tribunal

Without a documented process, employers can't evidence the "reasonable steps" the new duty requires

New standalone tribunal risk

Since October 2024, failing to prevent harassment is a compliance risk in its own right - not just a defence used after a claim

No documented risk assessment

EHRC guidance states employers are unlikely to comply without a carried-out, evidenced risk assessment

Untested reporting channels

Ad hoc channels (email, line manager) can't demonstrate the accessible reporting procedures the EHRC guide expects

Legal Framework: A Duty in Two Stages

The Worker Protection Act 2023 started it - the Employment Rights Act 2025 raises the bar from October 2026

Worker Protection Act 2023

The preventative duty (since Oct 2024)

Under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of workers - not simply respond well once it has occurred.

Employment Rights Act 2025

"All reasonable steps" (from Oct 2026)

The Employment Rights Act 2025 raises the sexual harassment duty from "reasonable steps" to "all reasonable steps" - employers must show there was nothing further they could reasonably have done, not just that they did something.

EHRC 8-step guide, step 3

Mandatory risk assessment

EHRC guidance states an employer is unlikely to be able to comply with the duty unless it has carried out - and can evidence - a sexual harassment risk assessment.

Employment Rights Act 2025

Third-party liability reinstated (Oct 2026)

From October 2026, employers become liable if they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment of staff by contractors, clients, customers or the public - covering all protected characteristics, not only sex.

From Reactive to Proactive - and Stronger Still

The Worker Protection Act 2023 started the shift - the Employment Rights Act 2025 takes it further from October 2026

Duty	What it requires	Nature of obligation	Tribunal consequence	Legal basis
Before 26 Oct 2024	Employers could rely on "reasonable steps" only as a defence after harassment had already occurred	Reactive, after the fact	Standard compensation	Equality Act 2010, s.109
From 26 Oct 2024	Employers must proactively anticipate and take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment	Proactive & anticipatory	Up to +25% uplift	Worker Protection Act 2023
From October 2026	The sexual harassment duty is upgraded to "all reasonable steps" - a materially higher evidentiary bar	Higher bar to meet	Up to +25% uplift	Employment Rights Act 2025
From October 2026	Third-party harassment liability is reinstated, covering all protected characteristics - not just sex	Applies beyond employees	New liability exposure	Employment Rights Act 2025

The EHRC 8-Step Guide: What Employers Must Put in Place

From policy to monitoring, every step should be documented and evidenced

Develop an anti-harassment policy

Put in place a clear, well-communicated policy defining unacceptable conduct and how reports will be handled.

EHRC guide, step 1

Engage staff

Involve employees in shaping prevention measures so the policy reflects real risks and is trusted.

EHRC guide, step 2

Assess and reduce risk

Carry out - and document - a sexual harassment risk assessment across roles, locations and work patterns.

EHRC guide, step 3

Set up reporting procedures

Provide accessible, confidential channels so workers feel safe raising concerns early.

EHRC guide, step 4

Roll out training

Deliver and refresh mandatory training for all staff, with dedicated training for managers.

EHRC guide, step 5

Deal with complaints

Respond promptly and consistently, with a documented process from intake to resolution.

EHRC guide, step 6

Address third-party harassment

Extend the same vigilance to harassment by customers, clients and contractors.

EHRC guide, step 7

Monitor and evaluate

Regularly review the effectiveness of your measures and act on what the data shows.

EHRC guide, step 8

How Evidencia supports every step of the EHRC guide

Policy acknowledgement and version tracking
Documented, exportable risk assessments
Secure, anonymous reporting channel
Training completion records for staff and managers
Guided complaint-handling workflow with audit trail
Dashboards to monitor and evidence ongoing evaluation

Our Anti-Harassment Platform

Built around the EHRC 8-step guide - from secure intake to evidenced, board-ready reporting

Anonymous and Secure Reporting Channel

A dedicated channel, accessible 24/7, so workers can report in complete confidence. Built to meet the EHRC's "accessible reporting procedures" step and UK GDPR.

Anonymity guaranteed by technical protocol
End-to-end encryption
Mobile and web accessibility
Automatic acknowledgement of receipt

Structured Investigation Workflows

Guided workflows for handling complaints - including third-party harassment - consistently, with a full audit trail evidencing "all reasonable steps".

Sexual harassment case templates
Consistent, documented timelines
Automatic escalation if blocked
Full audit trail

Risk Assessment & Training Records

Centralise your risk assessment, policy sign-off and training completion records - the evidence base EHRC guidance expects.

Risk assessment documentation
Training completion tracking
Policy acknowledgement logs
HR / management reporting

Monitoring & Board Reporting

Track trends and prove ongoing evaluation of your prevention measures - step 8 of the EHRC guide.

Anonymised dashboards
Pattern detection
Board-ready reporting
Exportable evidence pack

Employee Relations Space

Open Cases

-2

Res. Time

12d

-3d

Mediations

Ongoing

Satisfaction

4.2/5

+0.3

Training

85%

+5%

Recent Reports

View All

#HR-2405Mediation

Today

Marketing Team Interpersonal Conflict

Mediator

#HR-2402Investig.

Yesterday

Inappropriate Behavior Report

Investigator

#HR-2398New

Oct 25

Workstation Adjustment Request

Priority Actions

View All

#PREV-2025Planned

Nov 01

Harassment Awareness Campaign

HR Team

#POL-2025Ongoing

Oct 15

Remote Work Policy Review

CHRO

#CLIM-2025Analysis

Oct 28

Annual Climate Survey

Ext.

Why Choose Evidencia

Demonstrate the preventative duty

Evidence the "reasonable steps" required today - and the "all reasonable steps" standard arriving in October 2026 - from risk assessment to training records

Tribunal-ready documentation

Every policy, training record and case is timestamped and exportable to support your defence

Employee trust and wellbeing

A credible, accessible reporting channel builds psychological safety and reduces attrition

Faster, consistent handling

Standardised workflows for complaint intake and investigation, aligned to the EHRC 8-step guide

Reduced tribunal and uplift risk

A documented, working prevention programme is your strongest defence against the up-to-25% compensation uplift - and the higher bar coming in October 2026

Aligned to EHRC guidance & GDPR

Built around the EHRC 8-step guide and UK GDPR requirements for handling sensitive data

The anti-harassment system is part of a broader whistleblowing approach. Evidencia is purpose-built for mid-size and large UK employers, including fast-growing organisations scaling toward enterprise size. Discover our approach to ethics and compliance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know

Get Ahead of the October 2026 Duty

Deploy a documented, EHRC-aligned system that meets today's duty - and the stronger one arriving in October 2026