Preparing for the return of third-party harassment liability

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What happens if one of your employees is harassed by a customer or another person outside your organisation? You may have had no warning that the harassment would happen and no direct control over the person responsible, but could your organisation still be legally responsible? From 30 October 2026, the answer could be yes.

New rules will protect employees from harassment by third parties – people who are not employed by the organisation, such as customers, clients, contractors, service users and other business contacts. An employer could face a claim where an employee is harassed by a third party in the course of their employment and the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

One incident could be enough

This is not the first time that UK discrimination law has dealt with third-party harassment.

Under an older version of the law, an employer generally needed to know about two previous incidents of harassment before it could become liable. This was sometimes known as the “three strikes” rule. Those provisions were repealed in 2013.

The new rules are different. There is no three strikes rule, and a single incident could potentially result in a claim.

Where could the risk arise?

HR teams therefore need to think beyond the behaviour of their own employees.

Third-party harassment may be an obvious risk in areas such as hospitality, retail and healthcare, where employees regularly deal with members of the public.

But it can arise in many other situations. Employees might deal with contractors, attend conferences, entertain clients, visit customers’ homes or work alongside people employed by other organisations.

Employers should identify where these risks could arise and consider what reasonable steps they can take to reduce them.

What could employers do?

Depending on the workplace and the risks involved, reasonable steps might include:

  • Telling customers and service users that harassment of staff will not be tolerated
  • Including appropriate clauses in contracts with clients and contractors
  • Requiring contractors to deal with individuals who behave inappropriately
  • Avoiding lone working where there is a higher risk of harassment
  • Providing alarms or code words for employees working in higher-risk situations
  • Making sure employees know they should report harassment by customers and other third parties

Employers cannot control everything a customer, client or contractor might do, but that does not mean they can ignore the risk.

From October, HR teams will need to look beyond their own workforce and consider the risks posed by everyone employees come into contact with during their work.

Here to help

Our Employment team can help employers assess the risk of third-party harassment, review policies and contracts, and identify practical preventive steps. If you would like advice on preparing for the new rules or responding to an incident, please contact Miranda Mulligan, Senior Solicitor, in our Employment Law team.

Please note, the contents of this article are provided for information only and must not be relied upon.