Third-party harassment and the all reasonable steps duty: what organisations need to know before October
29
8:30 AM - 9:15 AM
Employment Rights Act 2025 webinar series - session 5
Most organisations preparing for all reasonable steps duty, which comes into force I n October 2026, have been focused on what happens inside their workforce. But the Employment Rights Act introduces a liability that extends well beyond it.
From October, UK employers will be responsible for harassment of their employees by third parties – including clients, customers, contractors and visitors - across all protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Not just sexual harassment - any harassment. And the standard is the same: all reasonable steps.
This is the change that is most consistently underestimated. For organisations where employees interact regularly with clients, customers or the public, it is one of the most significant new exposures they face.
The challenge is that the tools most organisations reach for - policies, training, reporting channels - are designed with internal behaviour in mind. They do not always reach the environments where third-party harassment most commonly occurs - a client site, a shop floor, a supplier dinner, an industry event... These are precisely the settings where most organisations have the least visibility and the least protection.
In this session we explore what all reasonable steps looks like for third-party harassment, what organisations in high-exposure sectors are doing in practice, and what needs to be in place before October.
What you will learn
- What the third-party harassment liability actually covers - and what surprises most organisations when they look closely
- Which sectors and roles carry the greatest exposure
- What all reasonable steps looks like when you cannot control the environment
- Practical steps organisations can take before October
- How organisations can get meaningful visibility of a risk that sits outside the usual reporting picture
Who should attend
Any organisation with employees who interact regularly with clients, customers, contractors or the public. Particularly relevant for HR Directors, General Counsel, compliance and risk professionals, and operations leads in retail, hospitality, professional services, construction and logistics.
Speakers
Joanna Lewis
Managing Director, Safecall
Joanna is the Managing Director of Safecall. She leads the Safecall business teams in delivering confidential whistleblowing services, training, and independent investigations on behalf of organisations around the world. As part of that role, Joanna sees the effect that whistleblowing reporting has on promoting positive working cultures and preventing or mitigating damage to business reputations.
Kate Dodd
Partner - Employment and Equality Law at Pinsent Masons
Kate is an employment expert who advises household name employers across the UK. Having extensive experience in a specialist diversity and inclusion role, Kate is particularly known for her specialism in equality and discrimination law.
Emily Webberley
Experienced Ethics & Compliance Leader at Vodafone
As a compliance and ethics leader, Emily Webberley specialises in turning organisational values into everyday behaviours. Her work focuses on culture transformation, Speak Up programmes, behavioural science, psychological safety, leadership accountability, and business integrity. She has led complex global initiatives that have reshaped how ethics and compliance are understood, moving conversations away from policing and towards trust, transparency, and sustainable performance.
Alongside her professional work, she writes and speaks about ethics, compliance, neurodiversity, and leadership. As an autistic leader, she is passionate about fairness, clarity, and challenging assumptions, and believes diversity of thought is critical to better business outcomes
Replays
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8:30 AM - 9:15 AM