From today, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The protection also expands to harassment by third parties across seven of the protected characteristics (age,disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief,sex, and sexual orientation), marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity are typically excluded from specific third-party harassment claims under the Equality Act framework.
An employer must not permit a third party to harass an employee, in person or online. It permits harassment if the harassment happens in the course of the employee’s employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it (Section 21 Employment Rights Act 2025 inserts new subsections (1A) to (1C) into s40 Equality Act 2010). A third party is defined as customers, clients, patients, service users, suppliers’ staff and members of the public, simply anyone other than the employer or an employee. Should a matter go to a tribunal a successful claim for sexual harassment could incure a 25% uplift in award.
This means prevention cannot sit only in a policy. Employers should be able to show that risks have been assessed, managers know how to respond, reporting routes are trusted and concerns involving customers, contractors, agency workers or other third parties are addressed promptly. Reviewing an incident after the event and deciding measures could be taken in the future may not be sufficient, and may evidence that the measure proposed post-event, could have been proactively in place before the incident. There is a clear expectation to have thoroughly risk assessed and identified risks and mitigation.
Questions to ask today:
Certified trade unions will be able to seek an access agreement to enter your business, communicate with workers, or both. Permitted purposes include meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting and organising workers, as well as facilitating collective bargaining. This does not apply to businesses with less than 21 employees.
Requests are expected to be made using statutory Form A. The request should identify the workers concerned, the access purpose, whether physical or digital access is sought, the proposed frequency and duration, and any assistance requested from the employer.
The clock starts quickly
Employers have 15 working days to respond. If access is agreed, the response should identify the person managing the arrangement and set out the workers covered, suitable times and locations, and any reasonable assistance the employer will provide.
Access should be refused entirely only where it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.
The Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) is likely to regard the following as reasonable in many cases:
Employers are not expected to make major structural changes to premises or IT systems. However, physical access should not be rejected simply because digital communication is possible, or vice versa.
If an employer refuses a request, or the parties cannot agree arrangements after 25 days, the union may apply to the CAC within 55 days of the original request. The CAC can determine the access terms and the assistance the employer must provide; the resulting agreement may remain in place for two years.
Access must be refused in limited circumstances, including where the employer and associated employers have fewer than 21 workers, or where national-security or criminal-justice concerns apply. The CAC may also refuse access where there are overlapping or competing union arrangements, or a genuine health and safety risk.
Imagine a 100-employee engineering business operating across two warehouse sites. On Monday morning, it receives a Form A request from the GMB seeking weekly visits to both locations and a private room for up to two hours per visit.
The right response is not an automatic “yes” or “no”. The employer should verify that the request is complete, appoint a lead, assess operational and safety constraints, consult relevant managers, and propose workable arrangements within the 15-working-day window. Weekly access and use of an existing private room may be considered reasonable, provided the arrangements do not unreasonably interfere with the business.
Access is not the same as statutory recognition, but it may be the first step towards it. An uncomplicated recognition process may take around two to four months; a contested application may take four to eight months.
The trade union measure develop further on 1st January 2027. Employers in the UK must provide workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union starting from that date forward.
Metro HR can help you prepare for the upcoming changes – whether that is supporting your policy review, union-access protocol, workforce audit and manager training.
If you’d like to discuss further, why not book in for a consultation call here, or by clicking the link below.
*This article provides general information and is not a substitute for legal advice on specific circumstances.
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