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Status at 31 October 2026: in force since 30 October 2026
New section 40(1A) to (1C) of the Equality Act 2010 (inserted by Employment Rights Act 2025 section 21, brought into force on 30 October 2026 by S.I. 2026/1065) is in force in England, Scotland and Wales. We checked legislation.gov.uk and Acas on 31 October 2026. We found no regulations listing steps that count as reasonable (new section 40B), so the steps are for you to decide.
The short version
- The rule. An employer must not permit a third party to harass an employee. A customer is a third party.
- When you “permit” it. Only if the customer harasses the employee in the course of their employment and you failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.
- Not only sexual harassment. The rule is about harassment as the Equality Act defines it, so it can include unwanted conduct related to, for example, race, sex, disability or sexual orientation.
- If you fall short. The employee can bring a tribunal claim against you under section 40(1A), normally within six months of the harassment.
- No list of steps. What is reasonable depends on your organisation. Acas gives examples, set out below.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. It covers Great Britain, not Northern Ireland. It is about the employer’s duty, not about what a victim can do.
Why pubs, restaurants, hotels and shops come up
Acas lists, among higher-risk factors: meeting clients or service users alone, an environment where people are drinking alcohol, work-related social events, and travelling for work including overnight stays. It names night clubs as an example of a higher-risk environment, and says for those environments the steps are more likely to include appropriate numbers of workers (for example security staff), safety equipment such as personal alarms, and body-worn or security cameras for some teams or areas.
A third party, Acas says, could be anyone a worker comes across through work, including customers, clients, service users and members of the public. And “in the course of employment” is not just the main premises: it can include meeting customers in other locations.
What Acas lists, and how it fits customer-facing work
Acas lists these steps for preventing third-party harassment. The right-hand column is our suggestion for how each could look in a customer-facing business. Whether it is reasonable for you is your decision.
| Step Acas lists | Pub or bar | Restaurant or café | Hotel or guest house | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regularly assess the risks and act on them | Alcohol, closing up, collecting glasses, late shifts | Late tables, tips, staff alone in the dining room | Staff alone in rooms, night reception, overnight stays | Lone working, till area, stockroom, late opening |
| Train staff in safety and de-escalation | What to say, when to step away, who to call | Handling a customer who will not stop | Dealing with a guest at the door or in a room | Dealing with abuse at the till |
| Tell customers the consequences | Sign at the bar and door | Line on the menu or booking email | Line in the booking confirmation and at reception | Sign at the till or door |
| Make sure terms and individual transactions are up to date | Terms for private hire and events | Terms on table and event bookings | Booking terms, which Acas gives as its own example (“hotel room bookings”) | Terms on online orders and collections |
| Appropriate numbers of staff, safety equipment, cameras for some areas | Second person on late shifts, door staff, personal alarm | Second person at close | Second person on night shifts, alarm for room visits | Second person at close, alarm button |
| Monitor and record incidents and the actions taken | Incident log kept by the manager | Incident log | Incident log | Incident log |
Acas says taking all reasonable steps means doing what is possible with the available resources, and that some steps will not be possible for every organisation. It suggests recording why you decided a step was not reasonable, including where you take a step for only some workers.
If you use door staff, check the licensing rules before you hire them: see our guide to SIA licences. Before you install security cameras or body-worn cameras, read the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance on video surveillance, because they record people.
When a customer harasses a member of staff
These are practical suggestions of ours, not legal requirements:
- Let the person step away and make sure they are safe. Nobody should have to put up with it to keep a customer.
- Take it seriously and write down what happened, when, where and who saw it.
- Ask them what they want to happen.
- Decide what you will do about the customer: a word, refusing service, a ban from the premises, ending a contract, or calling the police if there is a crime or threat.
- Tell the person what you did.
- Record it and ask what would stop it happening again. Acas says to keep a record of complaints to watch for patterns.
What to do this week
- Name who is responsible.
- Walk through a normal week and list where staff are alone with customers, around alcohol, or on late or lone shifts. Our risk assessment template and worked pub example is free.
- Put a sentence about customers in your sexual harassment policy, with who staff tell.
- Add a sign or a line in booking emails that harassment of staff is not tolerated and customers may be refused service.
- Brief the team in ten minutes, and write down who was there.
- Start an incident log.
Free checklist and the full kit
The free 30-Day Action Checklist (two pages from our kit, unaltered) puts the first month in order. The Sexual Harassment Prevention Kit (£14) includes a third-party harassment procedure with wording for a sign, a booking email and a contract, a risk assessment with third parties listed, a staff briefing sheet with sign-in, and an incident log. It does not make you compliant. The law does not list the steps, so the kit helps you decide, take and record yours.
Frequently asked questions
Are we liable for anything a customer does?
No. You are treated as permitting the harassment only if it happened to an employee in the course of their job and you failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. If you did take all reasonable steps, you are not treated as permitting it.
Do we have to ban customers?
The law does not say. Acas lists a range of steps, from signs and policies to training and, in higher-risk places, extra staff, alarms and cameras. What is reasonable depends on your size, premises and resources.
Does it cover agency staff or self-employed bar staff?
The new subsection is written about employees, and in the Equality Act “employee” includes someone working under a contract personally to do the work (section 83). Agency and other contract workers are covered by a separate section (41) that these changes did not amend. Treating everyone who works for you the same way is simpler.
Does it cover racist abuse or other harassment that is not sexual?
The wording is about harassment under section 26 of the Equality Act, so it is not limited to sexual harassment.
What about harassment by a customer that happens online or by message?
Acas says all reasonable steps includes protecting workers from online and in-person sexual harassment. If staff are contacted by customers on personal or work social media, your policy should say what to do and who to tell.
Sources
Last checked 31 October 2026.
- Equality Act 2010, section 40, legislation.gov.uk (subsections (1A) to (1C) in force 30 October 2026)
- The Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/1065), legislation.gov.uk (regulation 3)
- Equality Act 2010, section 40B and section 26, legislation.gov.uk
- Preventing harassment, Acas (updated 30 October 2026): steps to prevent third-party harassment, night clubs, hotel bookings
- Harassment related to protected characteristics, Acas (updated 30 October 2026): who is a third party, “in the course of employment”
- Steps for employers to prevent sexual harassment, Acas (updated 30 October 2026): risk factors, alarms for workers alone with customers
- Guidance on video surveillance including CCTV, ICO
Changes to this guide
- 2 November 2026: Reviewed by Liam Humphreys; no changes to the guidance.
- 31 October 2026: Published, with the byline By Plainfiles until a named review.
This guide is general information written from the official sources listed above and checked on 2 November 2026. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and Plainfiles is not endorsed by any government body. Rules change, so check the linked official pages for your own situation. Written and designed by Plainfiles with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, then checked against the official legislation and guidance listed in the sources. How we write and check our guides.