Third-party harassment has long presented a challenge for UK employment law. For employees who suffer harassment, the perpetrator tends to be a customer, client, patient or service user rather than a colleague or manager. Although the law initially recognised this as the case, third-party harassment protection was later removed. Recent reforms now signal a decisive shift back towards employer responsibility and preventative duties, reflecting changing workplace rights.
Third-party harassment presents a challenge for many customer-facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who often feel they have limited control over the behaviour of clients, service users or members of the public. However, the reintroduction of statutory protections also presents an opportunity for SMEs to implement preventative measures against third-party harassment.
What is Third-Party Harassment in Law?
Third-party harassment occurs when an employee is subjected to unwanted conduct by someone who is not a colleague or manager, such as a customer, client, patient or contractor. The Equality Act 2010 defines harassment as occurring when an individual displays unwanted conduct to another person because of one or more of their protected characteristics, which are:
- Sex
- Race
- Age
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sexual orientation
- Gender reassignment
The unwanted conduct violates the worker’s dignity and creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 contained explicit provisions imposing employer third-party liability in certain circumstances when their employees were subject to third-party harassment. However, in 2013, the explicit third-party harassment protections in section 40 were repealed by the Conservative / Liberal Democrat Coalition Government’s Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, removing clear statutory liability.
For SMEs, this repeal created a false sense of security. While explicit third-party liability was removed, employers still faced exposure through:
- Constructive dismissal claims
- Discrimination claims
- Health and safety obligations
Third-Party Sexual Harassment Protection
Under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, employers have a statutory responsibility to take preventative steps against sexual harassment. However, this was updated with the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA), which extended workplace rights and protections to take all possible reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
If third-party harassment has taken place during the course of employment and the employer did not take all possible reasonable preventative steps, a harassment claim can be measured under the ERA.
From an employment lawyer’s perspective, this represents a significant shift from reactive third-party liability to proactive compliance. Importantly for SMEs:
● The employer’s responsibility expressly covers third-party harassment
● There is no requirement for previous incidents
● Third-party liability depends on whether the employer took reasonable preventative steps
How SMEs Should Handle Employee Responsibility
SMEs are more exposed to the new legislation because they largely operate in customer-facing environments, lack dedicated HR teams and heavily rely on individual customers or contracts. Therefore, Employment Tribunals recognise that “reasonable steps” are context-specific, but SMEs should not assume that size alone will excuse inaction.
Tribunals will ask:
- Was the risk of harassment foreseeable?
- Were steps taken that were reasonable for this employer?
From a legal advisory standpoint, SMEs should focus on proportionate, documented action, rather than costly over-compliance and implement the following reasonable steps:
- A clear anti-harassment policy that explicitly references third-party behaviour
- Basic but regular staff training (even informal, documented sessions)
- Risk assessments for customer-facing roles
- Clear reporting routes for employees
- Willingness to challenge or restrict third-party behaviour where necessary
The law does not require perfection, but it does require evidence that harassment was taken seriously and addressed before it was escalated. If an employer does not uphold workplace rights or neglects employer responsibilities, Employment Tribunals may find unlawful harassment and increase compensation where reasonable steps were not taken.
Contact Newtons Solicitors For Third-Party Harassment Advice
The reintroduction of third-party harassment legislation reflects a modern understanding of employee protection in the workplace. It is crucial that all employers have an anti-harassment policy and process to protect both their employees and themselves from potential discrimination and harassment claims. Speak to our expert employment law team today about establishing your policy or for employee advice if you have been subject to third-party harassment.