Saturday, 19 September 2026
UK real estate, construction, hospitality and retail businesses will face increased responsibilities for protecting employees from workplace harassment from 30 October 2026, when another part of the Employment Rights Act 2025 comes into force. The changes will increase the preventative obligations already placed on employers and extend potential liability to situations involving people outside their own workforce.
This is particularly relevant for property-related businesses, where employees routinely interact with customers, hotel guests, tenants, contractors, suppliers, consultants and members of the public. Employers have been required since October 2024 to take reasonable preventative measures against sexual harassment. From the end of October 2026, that standard will become more demanding, requiring businesses to take all measures that could reasonably be expected in their particular circumstances.
The practical effect is likely to be greater emphasis on identifying risks before incidents occur. Employers will need to consider where and how employees could be exposed to inappropriate behaviour and demonstrate that suitable preventative measures have been introduced.
A major change concerns people who are not employed by the same company. Businesses can become liable where an employee experiences harassment from a third party during their work and the employer has failed to take all reasonable preventative measures. Third parties can include customers, clients, contractors, consultants and other members of the public.
Unlike the enhanced preventative obligation relating specifically to sexual harassment, the third-party provisions extend to forms of harassment covered by the Equality Act, including conduct connected with characteristics such as age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
The change has particular significance for hospitality and retail. Hotel employees can encounter hundreds of guests each week, while staff working in shops, shopping centres, restaurants and leisure properties regularly deal with members of the public. Employers will increasingly have to consider these interactions as part of workplace risk management rather than treating customer behaviour as something largely outside their responsibility.
Construction and development businesses face a different challenge. Large projects can involve developers, general contractors, subcontractors, consultants and specialist trades working alongside each other despite being employed by different companies. The new framework makes behaviour across these relationships increasingly important for individual employers.
Property management businesses could face similar issues. Employees may work directly with tenants, occupiers, maintenance contractors, security providers and other suppliers, creating circumstances where inappropriate conduct can originate outside the employer’s organisation.
The reforms do not mean businesses are expected to prevent every possible incident. The central issue will be whether an employer took all measures that were reasonable given its activities, resources and particular exposure to risk. Relevant actions can include regular risk assessments, incident monitoring, clear internal procedures, employee training and reviews of contractual arrangements with customers and suppliers.
For higher-risk environments, practical safeguards could extend further. Depending on the workplace, measures could include adequate staffing, security arrangements, procedures for summoning assistance and systems for recording incidents.
Commercial agreements may also receive greater scrutiny. Property companies could consider how standards of behaviour are addressed in arrangements with contractors, suppliers and clients, particularly where their employees work regularly alongside another organisation’s personnel.
Training will be another consideration. Businesses may need to demonstrate that employees understand how to identify and report problems and that managers know how to respond. A policy that exists on paper but is not effectively implemented may provide limited evidence that an employer has addressed the risks within its workplace.
Record keeping could consequently become more important. Documentation covering training, risk reviews, reported incidents and the measures taken in response can help demonstrate how an organisation has approached prevention.
The government also has powers under the Employment Rights Act to establish more detailed requirements concerning the steps employers should take to prevent sexual harassment. Future rules could address areas including risk assessments, policies, reporting systems and procedures for handling complaints.
The October reforms form part of a wider programme of employment-law changes being introduced across 2026 and 2027. Businesses therefore face an evolving compliance environment rather than a single change taking effect at one point in time.
For the property industry, the significance of the October rules lies particularly in the number of external relationships involved in everyday operations. Developers, contractors, hotel operators, retailers, property managers and advisers frequently operate workplaces where employees interact with people over whom their employer has limited direct control.
From 30 October, that distinction will provide less insulation from potential liability. Property businesses will increasingly need to demonstrate that risks involving both their own workforce and outside parties have been identified and that preventative measures have been incorporated into the way their workplaces and commercial relationships operate.
Source: CMS
