Third party harassment: training and risk assessments

From October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce a new legal duty for employers to prevent harassment of their people by third parties – including customers, clients and suppliers.

As organisations begin to consider what this means in practice, our training and risk assessment package is designed to support you and help you prepare.

What’s changing and why it matters

Amendments to the Equality Act 2010 will introduce a new duty on employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent third party harassment. Just a single incident may be enough to trigger liability if preventative steps are not in place.

These changes place a clear expectation on employers to act early, through training, risk assessment, and having strong policies in place.

How we can support you

We offer a complete, ready-to-use package that combines training, risk assessment tools and policy support, designed to help you put the right measures in place across your organisation.

Training: practical, engaging and ready to use

Our easy-to-distribute training videos provide practical, real-world guidance, tailored to different audiences.

For all staff

Builds awareness of expected behaviours and how to raise concerns.

For managers

Focuses on accountability and what managers need to do in practice.

Core training content

What unlawful harassment looks like, including sexual harassment and conduct linked to protected characteristics
What ‘unwanted conduct’ means in practice
Real-world examples of harassment (including ‘banter’, messaging, social media and physical conduct)
Who may be at risk – including customer-facing roles and environments involving lone working or social events where alcohol is present
Why reporting matters and protection against victimisation

Additional content for managers

Explaining the new legal duties coming into force in October 2026
What it means to ‘permit’ harassment
The role of managers in shaping culture and responding to concerns
Practical, proactive steps to take, even where no complaint has been raised

Together, these training tools give your people the knowledge to act early, respond appropriately and support a safe working environment.

Risk assessments: identify and reduce risks

We provide third party harassment risk assessments for both lower and higher risk environments.

These can be tailored to your organisation to:

identify where risks are most likely to arise
put proportionate measures in place
evidence the steps you have taken as an employer

Updated policies and contractual protection

We will provide you with a suite of updated policies to reflect these new expectations, including:

Equal opportunities
Dignity at work
Anti-sexual harassment
Grievance procedures

We also provide draft clauses for business-to-business contracts, helping you set clear expectations with third parties.

Why work with us?

We understand that preventing harassment is about more than policies – it’s about people, culture and the day-to-day experiences of your teams. We work alongside you to put the right measures in place, in a way that fits how your organisation actually works.

Practical training and tools your teams can use straight away
Support that reflects the realities of your workplace and the risks you face
A focus on helping you take meaningful steps before October 2026

Speak to our Employment team

If you'd like to explore how our support could work for your organisation and discuss package pricing, contact our Employment team, who will be pleased to support you.