Sexual harassment training for employees teaches staff what sexual harassment is, what to do if they experience or witness it and how to report it, and teaches managers how to prevent it and handle complaints. No UK law says “train all staff”, but since 30 October 2026 employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and both the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and Acas list training for everyone among the steps they expect. An employer whose people have never been trained will struggle to show it met the duty.
This guide covers what changed in 2026, what each group of staff needs to learn, how to make the training count, how often to refresh it and the records to keep.
What changed for employers on 30 October 2026?
Since 26 October 2024, section 40A of the Equality Act 2010 has required employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. The Employment Rights Act 2025 made three changes that came into force on 30 October 2026:
- “All reasonable steps”. The duty now requires all reasonable steps. Acas explains that this means taking every step that is reasonable for your organisation, focusing on prevention, with some steps applying across the whole organisation.
- Harassment by third parties. Under section 40 of the Equality Act, an employer must not permit a third party, such as a customer, client, patient or supplier, to harass an employee. The employer is liable if it failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. This covers harassment related to age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation, as well as sexual harassment. Our guide to equality and diversity training covers the wider Equality Act duties.
- Specific steps to come. A new power in the Act lets the government set out steps that count as reasonable, such as risk assessments, policies, reporting and complaint handling. The government’s factsheet expects those regulations in 2027/28, after consultation.
Breaching the duty has two consequences. The EHRC can take enforcement action, and if an employee wins a sexual harassment claim, an employment tribunal can increase their compensation by up to 25% under section 124A. Since April 2026, reporting sexual harassment can also qualify for whistleblowing protection, which our guide to whistleblowing training explains.
These rules apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own equality law.
Is sexual harassment training mandatory in the UK?
Not by name. Section 40A does not mention training. The guidance on how to meet it does:
- The EHRC’s employer 8-step guide, updated on 30 October 2026, makes training step 5. Workers, including managers and senior staff, should be trained on what sexual harassment looks like, what to do if they experience or witness it and how to handle complaints.
- Acas says employers should train everyone on recognising and understanding sexual harassment, and give extra training to managers, senior leaders and the people who advise colleagues thinking of making a complaint.
- The government’s factsheet lists engaging and training staff among its examples of reasonable steps.
Training on its own is not enough. Acas gives the example of an employer that ran harassment training for one team after a serious incident but did nothing about a wider culture of “banter”. Acas says it is very unlikely that employer took all reasonable steps. Training works when it sits alongside a clear policy, reporting routes that people trust and action on what you find.
For the other training UK employers must provide, see our guide to mandatory training for employees in the UK, or use the free mandatory training checker.
How common is workplace sexual harassment?
Office for National Statistics figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, quoted in the government’s factsheet, show that in the year ending March 2025, 22.5% of people who had experienced sexual harassment in person in the previous 12 months experienced it at their place of work. Acas notes it can also happen online, in meetings, email, social media and messaging tools, including through sexual images generated by AI.
What sexual harassment training should cover
Everyone needs the core content. Some roles need more. This outline follows the EHRC and Acas guidance.
| Who | What they need to learn |
|---|---|
| All staff | What sexual harassment is under the Equality Act, with examples from your own workplace, including online behaviour and “banter”. Your policy and the consequences of breaching it. How to report, including more than one route and any anonymous option. What to do if they witness it. That nobody will be disadvantaged for reporting in good faith. |
| Customer-facing staff | How to recognise and report harassment by customers, clients or the public, how to de-escalate, and how to get help quickly, for example when working alone. |
| Managers and team leaders | How to assess and reduce the risks in their area, respond to a report without dismissing it, protect the person who reported it and pass the complaint on correctly. |
| People who handle complaints | Your complaints procedure and the Acas Code of Practice, confidentiality, protecting complainants and witnesses from victimisation, and keeping records. |
| Senior leaders | Their role in preventing harassment, encouraging people to report it, leading by example and reviewing whether the steps are working. |
The EHRC says your policy should define sexual harassment with examples that are relevant to your working environment. The same applies to training. A generic course explains the law, but staff remember the scenarios that look like their own workplace: the client dinner, the late shift, the team messaging group, the customer who will not take no for an answer.
How to make the training count as a reasonable step
- Start from your risk assessment. Acas and the EHRC both list higher-risk situations, such as meeting clients alone, alcohol, work social events, travel and overnight stays, power imbalances and customer-facing roles. Acas also notes that younger workers, apprentices and interns can be at higher risk. Train hardest where the risk is highest.
- Teach your own policy and reporting routes. People need to know exactly who to tell and how, in your organisation.
- Give managers practice. Responding well to a report is a skill, so managers and complaint handlers benefit from practising the conversation in a safe setting.
- Check it worked. The EHRC suggests anonymous staff surveys and reviewing complaints data to see whether things are changing, and reviewing training regularly.
- Keep records. Record who completed which training and when, so you can show what you did if a claim or an EHRC inquiry ever asks.
Online, classroom or both?
Online training is a practical way to give every member of staff the same core content, including new starters on their first day, shift workers and people who work remotely, and it leaves a record of who completed it. Scenario-based e-learning lets people make choices and see the consequences in situations that look like their own work.
Live sessions suit managers, complaint handlers and senior leaders, where the aim is to practise conversations and judgement. The EHRC also suggests practical training in de-escalation for staff who deal with abusive customers. A practical mix is online training for everyone and live practice for the roles that need it.
How often should sexual harassment training be refreshed?
The law sets no interval. The EHRC says employers should offer refresher sessions at regular intervals, and Acas says training should be reviewed regularly to keep it up to date and effective.
We suggest training at induction, a short refresher every year and extra training when something changes: a new policy, a change in risk, a team where a problem has been reported, or the regulations on specific steps when they arrive.
How Capytech helps
FastTrack turns your own sexual harassment policy, reporting routes and workplace scenarios into an interactive custom e-learning module with a knowledge check. Modules are built from your documents in days, and updates are turned round in 48 hours, so the training keeps up when your policy or the law changes.
The Capytech course library has around 9,000 short courses, including titles on harassment awareness, bystander intervention, the supervisor’s role and de-escalation. We leave out titles written for US or Canadian law, and add a short UK module built from your own documents where UK law matters.
The Capytech LMS keeps the records. Its compliance matrix maps each job role to the training it needs and shows who is valid, due or overdue, and certificates carry renewal dates so refreshers happen on time.
Frequently asked questions
No law uses the words “train all staff”. However, since 30 October 2026 employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and the EHRC and Acas both list training for all staff, managers and senior leaders among the steps they expect. Without training, it is very hard to show you met the duty.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 changed the duty from “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps” and made employers liable for harassment of their employees by third parties, such as customers, where they failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. It also gave the government a power to set out specific steps, expected in 2027/28 after consultation.
The law does not name training, but the EHRC says that where harassment by customers or the public is more likely, staff should be trained on how to deal with it, including practical de-escalation. Customer-facing staff also need to know how to report it and how to get help quickly.
There is no set legal interval. The EHRC recommends refresher sessions at regular intervals. Training at induction, a yearly refresher and extra training after a change in policy or risk is a sensible pattern.
Yes. Online training works well for the core content every member of staff needs, and it gives you a record of completion. Managers and people who handle complaints benefit from live practice as well, and customer-facing staff may need practical de-escalation training.
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