New information reveals most companies stay unprepared as a more durable customary arrives on 1 October, with gaps in threat evaluation, coaching and supervisor readiness
UK companies have fewer than three months to arrange for his or her expanded authorized responsibility to forestall sexual harassment at work, however many lack the fundamental steps. New information from compliance eLearning supplier VinciWorks, which polled 985 UK-based HR and compliance professionals in July 2026, means that many nonetheless can’t display they’ve put in place the required affordable steps.
From 1 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act raises the bar from “affordable steps” to “all affordable steps”. This can be a vital change that requires many organisations to take extra motion than they ever have to forestall sexual harassment. Below the present customary, an employer can level to some effort and argue it was affordable. Below the brand new customary, the burden falls on employers to clarify something left undone.
Managers are usually the primary level of contact an worker reviews to when one thing occurs, but solely 30% of companies present them with devoted coaching on how you can reply. Virtually a 3rd (32%) fold supervisor coaching into normal workers classes, and a fifth (21%) present no particular supervisor coaching in any respect.
That one-in-five determine is the place vital dangers exist for a lot of organisations. A supervisor dealing with a sexual harassment report within the unsuitable method can flip a manageable scenario right into a mishandled one, doubtlessly triggering a whistleblowing breach as nicely since sexual harassment turned a protected disclosure in April 2026.
Nick Henderson-Mayo, Head of Compliance at VinciWorks, stated: “The primary hour after somebody discloses harassment to a supervisor is the place belief is constructed or misplaced. If that supervisor shouldn’t be geared up for the second, then neither is the enterprise standing behind them. An absence of correct, role-specific coaching is likely one of the clearest dangers.”
That hole begins additional again. Over half of employers haven’t reviewed their very own threat prior to now yr.
A 3rd of employers don’t have any proof to point out a tribunal
Requested once they final performed a sexual harassment threat evaluation, a 3rd (34%) stated they by no means have, and an additional 17% stated it had been greater than a yr in the past. Which means over half of employers are both overdue a evaluate or have by no means carried one out in any respect.
A threat evaluation is likely one of the clearest types of proof an employer can produce. It reveals a tribunal that the enterprise actively seemed for the place harassment might happen, relatively than ready for a criticism to pressure the difficulty. With out one, an employer is left arguing its good intentions relatively than pointing to a documented course of, a a lot weaker place as soon as the “all affordable steps” customary applies.
Ruth Mittelmann-Cohen, Head of Authorized Compliance at VinciWorks, stated: “A threat evaluation is the proof that an employer checked out the place harassment might occur of their enterprise and did one thing about it. With out one, there’s no paper path, and no paper path may be very arduous to defend in entrance of a tribunal.”
Supervisor coaching doesn’t occur in isolation; it sits on prime of a wider coaching downside.
Coaching gaps depart one in seven companies with no defence in any respect (14%)
The stats on coaching expose a good starker downside. Almost half (47%) described their coaching as needing enchancment, whereas 14% admitted they supply no sexual harassment coaching by any means. Solely seven per cent rated their coaching as wonderful.
That 14% is the determine that ought to concern employers most. Below the present responsibility, and extra so below the more durable customary from October, coaching is likely one of the main methods a enterprise demonstrates it took the difficulty critically. An employer with no coaching in place has successfully no proof to supply if a declare ever reaches a tribunal, leaving it uncovered not simply to the harassment declare itself however to a discovering that it failed the statutory responsibility to forestall it.
4 in ten employers can’t present they’re addressing harassment proactively
Bystander intervention coaching, which teaches workers how you can safely problem or report harassment they witness relatively than expertise straight, stays uncommon. Simply 12% have embedded it into ongoing yearly coaching, whereas two-fifths (41%) both don’t have any plans to introduce it or are uncertain whether or not they do.
This connects on to the shift in what “affordable steps” is predicted to seem like. A coverage and a coaching module cowl the fundamentals, however bystander intervention coaching is more and more seen as proof {that a} enterprise is constructing a tradition the place harassment is challenged by everybody, not simply dealt with reactively by HR as soon as a criticism is made. Companies with out it are counting on workers to report harassment themselves, which is exactly the passive, complaint-led strategy the brand new responsibility is designed to maneuver away from.
Lorna Gemmell, employment legislation and HR coaching supervisor at WorkNest stated, “Employers can’t afford to deal with this as a tick-box train. The responsibility is about taking ‘all affordable steps’ to forestall sexual harassment earlier than it occurs, and meaning with the ability to display significant motion, not simply having a coverage sitting on the intranet.
“The findings counsel that too many organisations are nonetheless counting on good intentions relatively than proactive measures. If employers haven’t reviewed the dangers of their office, educated their individuals and stored these measures below common evaluate, they might discover it troublesome to point out they’ve met their authorized obligations.”
With the deadline weeks away, solely 8% of companies report making vital adjustments forward of the brand new responsibility, whereas lower than half (45%) have made none in any respect, leaving most of those gaps nonetheless open.
Three issues employers ought to do earlier than 1 October
- Perform a sexual harassment threat evaluation in the event you haven’t already, specializing in the place what you are promoting is genuinely uncovered: lone employees, client-facing roles, evening shifts, and any third-party contact.
- Give managers devoted coaching on responding to a disclosure, separate from normal staff-wide consciousness coaching.
- Ensure a couple of reporting route exists, so no one has to lift a priority with the individual closest to the issue.
Get your office prepared earlier than 1 October
With the sexual harassment prevention responsibility tightening to “all affordable steps,” having a coverage is now not sufficient. VinciWorks’ sexual harassment coaching and bystander intervention programs are constructed across the similar customary regulators now anticipate employers to satisfy, protecting how you can recognise harassment, reply to a disclosure, and problem behaviour earlier than it escalates.
Ebook a demo to see how our programs may also help you proof the steps you’ve taken, and the place the gaps in your present coaching may be.
New information reveals most companies stay unprepared as a more durable customary arrives on 1 October, with gaps in threat evaluation, coaching and supervisor readiness
UK companies have fewer than three months to arrange for his or her expanded authorized responsibility to forestall sexual harassment at work, however many lack the fundamental steps. New information from compliance eLearning supplier VinciWorks, which polled 985 UK-based HR and compliance professionals in July 2026, means that many nonetheless can’t display they’ve put in place the required affordable steps.
From 1 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act raises the bar from “affordable steps” to “all affordable steps”. This can be a vital change that requires many organisations to take extra motion than they ever have to forestall sexual harassment. Below the present customary, an employer can level to some effort and argue it was affordable. Below the brand new customary, the burden falls on employers to clarify something left undone.
Managers are usually the primary level of contact an worker reviews to when one thing occurs, but solely 30% of companies present them with devoted coaching on how you can reply. Virtually a 3rd (32%) fold supervisor coaching into normal workers classes, and a fifth (21%) present no particular supervisor coaching in any respect.
That one-in-five determine is the place vital dangers exist for a lot of organisations. A supervisor dealing with a sexual harassment report within the unsuitable method can flip a manageable scenario right into a mishandled one, doubtlessly triggering a whistleblowing breach as nicely since sexual harassment turned a protected disclosure in April 2026.
Nick Henderson-Mayo, Head of Compliance at VinciWorks, stated: “The primary hour after somebody discloses harassment to a supervisor is the place belief is constructed or misplaced. If that supervisor shouldn’t be geared up for the second, then neither is the enterprise standing behind them. An absence of correct, role-specific coaching is likely one of the clearest dangers.”
That hole begins additional again. Over half of employers haven’t reviewed their very own threat prior to now yr.
A 3rd of employers don’t have any proof to point out a tribunal
Requested once they final performed a sexual harassment threat evaluation, a 3rd (34%) stated they by no means have, and an additional 17% stated it had been greater than a yr in the past. Which means over half of employers are both overdue a evaluate or have by no means carried one out in any respect.
A threat evaluation is likely one of the clearest types of proof an employer can produce. It reveals a tribunal that the enterprise actively seemed for the place harassment might happen, relatively than ready for a criticism to pressure the difficulty. With out one, an employer is left arguing its good intentions relatively than pointing to a documented course of, a a lot weaker place as soon as the “all affordable steps” customary applies.
Ruth Mittelmann-Cohen, Head of Authorized Compliance at VinciWorks, stated: “A threat evaluation is the proof that an employer checked out the place harassment might occur of their enterprise and did one thing about it. With out one, there’s no paper path, and no paper path may be very arduous to defend in entrance of a tribunal.”
Supervisor coaching doesn’t occur in isolation; it sits on prime of a wider coaching downside.
Coaching gaps depart one in seven companies with no defence in any respect (14%)
The stats on coaching expose a good starker downside. Almost half (47%) described their coaching as needing enchancment, whereas 14% admitted they supply no sexual harassment coaching by any means. Solely seven per cent rated their coaching as wonderful.
That 14% is the determine that ought to concern employers most. Below the present responsibility, and extra so below the more durable customary from October, coaching is likely one of the main methods a enterprise demonstrates it took the difficulty critically. An employer with no coaching in place has successfully no proof to supply if a declare ever reaches a tribunal, leaving it uncovered not simply to the harassment declare itself however to a discovering that it failed the statutory responsibility to forestall it.
4 in ten employers can’t present they’re addressing harassment proactively
Bystander intervention coaching, which teaches workers how you can safely problem or report harassment they witness relatively than expertise straight, stays uncommon. Simply 12% have embedded it into ongoing yearly coaching, whereas two-fifths (41%) both don’t have any plans to introduce it or are uncertain whether or not they do.
This connects on to the shift in what “affordable steps” is predicted to seem like. A coverage and a coaching module cowl the fundamentals, however bystander intervention coaching is more and more seen as proof {that a} enterprise is constructing a tradition the place harassment is challenged by everybody, not simply dealt with reactively by HR as soon as a criticism is made. Companies with out it are counting on workers to report harassment themselves, which is exactly the passive, complaint-led strategy the brand new responsibility is designed to maneuver away from.
Lorna Gemmell, employment legislation and HR coaching supervisor at WorkNest stated, “Employers can’t afford to deal with this as a tick-box train. The responsibility is about taking ‘all affordable steps’ to forestall sexual harassment earlier than it occurs, and meaning with the ability to display significant motion, not simply having a coverage sitting on the intranet.
“The findings counsel that too many organisations are nonetheless counting on good intentions relatively than proactive measures. If employers haven’t reviewed the dangers of their office, educated their individuals and stored these measures below common evaluate, they might discover it troublesome to point out they’ve met their authorized obligations.”
With the deadline weeks away, solely 8% of companies report making vital adjustments forward of the brand new responsibility, whereas lower than half (45%) have made none in any respect, leaving most of those gaps nonetheless open.
Three issues employers ought to do earlier than 1 October
- Perform a sexual harassment threat evaluation in the event you haven’t already, specializing in the place what you are promoting is genuinely uncovered: lone employees, client-facing roles, evening shifts, and any third-party contact.
- Give managers devoted coaching on responding to a disclosure, separate from normal staff-wide consciousness coaching.
- Ensure a couple of reporting route exists, so no one has to lift a priority with the individual closest to the issue.
Get your office prepared earlier than 1 October
With the sexual harassment prevention responsibility tightening to “all affordable steps,” having a coverage is now not sufficient. VinciWorks’ sexual harassment coaching and bystander intervention programs are constructed across the similar customary regulators now anticipate employers to satisfy, protecting how you can recognise harassment, reply to a disclosure, and problem behaviour earlier than it escalates.
Ebook a demo to see how our programs may also help you proof the steps you’ve taken, and the place the gaps in your present coaching may be.
