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From 30 October 2026, employers will face stronger legal responsibilities to prevent sexual harassment at work. For care providers, now is the time to review workplace risks, policies, employee training and reporting procedures.
Care organisations have a responsibility to provide a safe, respectful working environment for employees. However, having a sexual harassment policy is not enough if the organisation cannot demonstrate what it has done to prevent inappropriate behaviour.
For care providers, the challenge can be particularly complex. Employees may work alone, provide personal care, visit people's homes or interact with residents, families, visitors and external professionals.
Understanding where risks arise is essential to preventing harassment and responding appropriately when concerns are raised.
Since October 2024, employers have been under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers.
From 30 October 2026, the duty is due to strengthen, requiring employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 also provides for stronger protections relating to harassment by third parties, such as customers, clients and other people employees encounter through their work.
For care providers, this makes prevention an important part of workforce management, governance and organisational risk.
The legislation places greater emphasis on what employers do in practice, rather than simply what their policies say.
Under the Equality Act 2010, sexual harassment involves unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Examples may include:
Sexual harassment can affect employees regardless of gender, seniority or job role.
Employers should ensure that staff understand what inappropriate behaviour can look like in real workplace situations.
Care services often operate in environments where employees have close contact with people receiving care.
Domiciliary care workers may visit individuals alone. Care home employees regularly interact with residents, relatives, visitors and contractors. Supported living staff may work across several locations.
These arrangements can create circumstances that require specific preventative measures.
For example, care providers should consider how employees can raise concerns about inappropriate behaviour involving residents, service users, colleagues or visitors.
They should also examine how managers respond to complaints, whether employees feel confident reporting concerns and how incidents are recorded.
A workplace sexual harassment risk assessment should reflect the actual circumstances in which employees work.
No. A written policy is an important starting point, but employers also need to consider how effectively it operates in practice.
A preventative approach should include:
Employers should be able to demonstrate that their arrangements are understood, implemented and reviewed.
An effective assessment should consider the working environment, employee responsibilities and situations where inappropriate behaviour might occur.
For care organisations, relevant questions include:
Lone working: Are employees visiting service users or working in locations without immediate management support?
Third party interactions: What arrangements exist when employees experience inappropriate behaviour from residents, visitors or others?
Reporting: Do employees know how to raise concerns confidentially and without fear of victimisation?
Management training: Would managers recognise a concern and understand how to escalate it?
Organisational culture: Do senior leaders demonstrate the standards of behaviour expected throughout the organisation?
Evidence: Can the organisation demonstrate what preventative measures have been implemented?
These questions can help care providers identify gaps before a serious complaint occurs.
Managers are often the first people to hear about inappropriate behaviour.
An employee might raise a concern informally rather than submit a formal grievance. They may describe an incident as uncomfortable behaviour without recognising that it could constitute sexual harassment.
Managers therefore need to understand how to listen, record concerns, maintain appropriate confidentiality and follow the organisation's reporting procedures.
Their role is not to make an immediate judgement about whether harassment has occurred.
It is to ensure concerns are recognised, taken seriously and handled appropriately.
Care organisations should use the period before the strengthened duty takes effect to review their existing arrangements.
Practical priorities include:
The objective should be to establish an approach that protects employees and can be demonstrated through evidence.
Through our Business Solutions services, Quality Care Group can help care organisations access specialist HR, employment law and workplace training support.
Depending on your requirements, support may include:
Whether you need a comprehensive review or simply want to understand whether your current arrangements are sufficient, our team can help you explore the support available.
Could your care organisation demonstrate that it has taken appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment?
With the strengthened duties approaching, now is an opportunity to review your arrangements and identify any areas requiring attention.
Contact the Quality Care Group Business Solutions team to find out more about specialist support for your organisation.
