Sexual harassment risk assessment
A record of the risks you have identified in your workplace, the controls already in place, and the further action you plan to take. Keep it alongside the evidence of what you actually did — policies, training records, staff communications and incident logs.
Since October 2024, employers have had a preventative duty under section 40A of the Equality Act 2010 to take reasonable steps to stop sexual harassment of their workers. It applies before anything has happened — responding well to a complaint afterwards does not satisfy it.
The test is evidential — a tribunal asks what you actually did, not what you knew. There is no standalone claim for breaching the duty: where an employee succeeds in a sexual harassment claim and compensation is awarded, the tribunal must then consider the duty and may increase that compensation by up to 25%.
From 30 October 2026 the test becomes all reasonable steps rather than reasonable steps. Separately, employers become liable for harassment by third parties such as customers and clients unless all reasonable steps were taken to prevent it. The current duty already requires you to consider sexual harassment by third parties, so this is a strengthening rather than a first mention.
Written for employers in England, Wales and Scotland. The Equality Act 2010 does not extend to Northern Ireland, which has separate discrimination legislation.
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