Key takeaways
New sex‑based harassment offence introduced
Victims can report sex‑based harassment to police from April 2026.
Offence requires intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress
Perpetrator must intentionally cause harassment due to the victim’s actual or presumed sex.
Wide scope may capture workplace conduct
Behaviour in workplaces or work‑related settings could fall within the new criminal offence.
The police can currently get involved in cases of sexual harassment which involve sexual assault or rape. From 1 April 2026, a new criminal offence of sex-based harassment comes into force, which could potentially capture many lower-level instances of work-related sexual harassment.
From that date, it will be a criminal offence to 'intentionally harass, alarm, or distress' a person 'because of' their actual or presumed sex. A person is guilty of the criminal offence if they:
'intend' to cause a person harassment, alarm or distress because of the victim’s actual or presumed sex; and
they:
use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or disorderly behaviour; or
display any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting; and
this conduct causes the recipient harassment, alarm or distress.
Although the harassment must be conducted because of the victim’s actual or presumed sex, it does not matter whether the perpetrator also carried out the conduct because of any other factor, or for the purposes of sexual gratification.
Unlike for a sexual harassment claim under the Equality Act 2010 (where the perpetrator’s intention is irrelevant and the main focus is on the impact the behaviour has on the victim), to commit this new criminal offence the perpetrator must have intended to cause harassment, alarm, or distress because of the victim’s actual or presumed sex. The victim must also have suffered harassment, alarm or distress due to the behaviour.
Although this new criminal offence is principally targeted at sex-based harassment in public, its scope is far wider and the offence can be committed in either a public place (e.g. streets, parks, and public transport) and private places (e.g. shops, gyms, hospitality venues and workplaces). However, dwellings occupied as a person’s home or living accommodation are expressly excluded. Cars and other vehicles will only be excluded if they are being used as permanent or temporary living accommodation.
A person found guilty of this offence can be imprisoned for up to two years, be subject to an unlimited fine or both.
The wide scope of the criminal offence has the potential to capture some instances of work-related sexual harassment occurring both within the workplace or outside of it (e.g. during parties, conferences and colleague lift-sharing). In reality, there is already significant under-reporting of sexual harassment and many victims may not report incidents to the police. Even where a victim does make a police report, due to under-resourcing, the police may be unwilling to investigate / charge in relation to less severe/serious workplace incidents.
Although it is the perpetrator, not their employer, that will face prosecution if they are charged with this new criminal offence, employers remain bound by the duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. From October 2026, under the Equality Act 2025, this will extend to a duty to take ‘all’ reasonable preventative steps and liability for third party harassment is also being reintroduced (see our Employment Rights Act Tracker for further details).
New s4B Public Order Act 1986, as inserted by s1 Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023; The Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023 (Commencement) Regulations 2026
