Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 — inserting EA2010 s.40A (preventative duty on sexual harassment)

In brief

The Worker Protection Act 2023 amends the Equality Act 2010 to introduce a new preventative duty on employers. Under EA2010 s.40A (inserted by WPA 2023, in force 26 October 2024), employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of employment; from 30 October 2026 the duty is to take all reasonable steps (EA 2010 s.40A, as amended by ERA 2025 s.20). The Equality and Human Rights Commission can enforce the duty under its existing statutory powers, and the Employment Tribunal may increase compensation in a successful sexual harassment claim (EA 2010 s.124A) by up to 25 per cent where the employer has breached the duty. The s.40A duty applies only to sexual harassment (EA2010 s.26(2)); it does not extend to harassment related to other protected characteristics. Separately, from 30 October 2026 an employer is liable where a third party (such as a customer, client or service user) harasses one of its employees in the course of their employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it (EA 2010 s.40(1A)–(1C), inserted by ERA 2025 s.21); that provision covers harassment related to any relevant protected characteristic, including gender reassignment.

Key provisions

• EA2010 s.40A(1) — Positive duty to take reasonable steps (all reasonable steps from 30 October 2026) to prevent sexual harassment : An employer must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment; from 30 October 2026, all reasonable steps (s.40A(1) as amended by ERA 2025 s.20).
• EA2010 s.124A (uplift mechanism) — Tribunal can uplift compensation by up to 25% where duty is breached : Where a tribunal finds that a contravention of s.26(2) (sexual harassment) has occurred and the employer has failed to comply with the s.40A duty, the tribunal may order an uplift of up to 25% on the compensation awarded.
• Scope — sexual harassment only — Duty limited to sexual harassment; does not extend to other protected characteristics : The s.40A duty is limited to sexual harassment under EA2010 s.26(2). Harassment related to other protected characteristics (sex, gender reassignment, race, religion, etc.) is not directly covered by the preventative duty, though other equality duties remain relevant. From 30 October 2026, harassment of employees by third parties related to any relevant protected characteristic, including gender reassignment, is covered by a separate provision, EA 2010 s.40(1A)–(1C) (inserted by ERA 2025 s.21).

When relevant

Any assessment of an employer's preventative obligations around sexual harassment. Relevant to the stacked-claim analysis where a trans worker's harassment claim under s.26(1) EA2010 sits alongside a sexual-harassment dimension covered by the s.40A duty. Also relevant for Board Briefing risk quantification — the 25% uplift meaningfully changes the downside of a finding. From 30 October 2026, read with ERA2025 (ss.20–22) and ERA2025-COMM-2026-6.