Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023  

The purpose of this quick guide is to provide an overview of the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023.

Within this guide, the legislation will be referred to as the Worker Protection Act 2023. 

The resource provides a summary of the Act along with an overview of its implications for the workplace. It also offers suggestions as to what your organisation can do to be proactive and prepare for the enforcement of the Act. 

What is the Worker Protection Act 2023? 

The Worker Protection Act 2023 is an amendment of the Equality Act 2010 that was passed on 26 October 2023. As an amendment to the Equality Act 2010, it covers England, Scotland, and Wales, but it does not apply in Northern Ireland. For more information on the Equality Act 2010, see Onvero’s Employer Guide: Equality Act 2010. 

What are the key points of the Worker Protection Act 2023? 

The Worker Protection Act 2023 puts in place measures – identified as reasonable steps – employers must take to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sexual harassment can come in the form of unwanted conduct (from an individual of any gender) that is sexual in nature. This can include: 

  • The invasion of personal space; 
  • Inappropriate touching; 
  • Serious assault; 
  • Intrusive questions or remarks about a person’s sex life; 
  • Comments or ridicule about appearance or dress; 
  • Unwanted sexual advances; 
  • Sexually explicit remarks or innuendoes; 
  • Pressure for sexual favours; 
  • Displays or distribution of pornographic or sexually suggestive material; or 
  • The use of demeaning, gender-specific terminology.

Note that the Worker Protection Act 2023 does not cover harassment associated with other characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010. For more information, including additional explanations of sexual harassment, see Onvero’s Employer Guide: Harassment, Bullying, and Victimisation. 

What aspects of harassment are addressed under the Employment Rights Act 2025?

On 18 December 2025, the parameters for addressing sexual harassment in the workplace changed with the passage of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025).

Modifying reasonable steps

  • Changing reasonable steps to all reasonable steps (anticipated adoption on 1 October 2026). The law strengthens “the duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees by requiring them to take ‘all reasonable steps’.” In its guidance on the Employment Rights Bill (passed as the Employment Rights Act 2025 or ERA 2025), Acas explains that under ERA 2025, “employers will need to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment – current law says ‘reasonable steps’.”
  • Defining what is meant by all reasonable steps (regulations anticipated in 2027). “The law will specify what ‘reasonable steps’ means when preventing sexual harassment.”

For more information, see What’s in the Employment Rights Act?

Other employee protections

ERA 2025 also introduced the following measures to address other forms of harassment and provide employee protections as described in the Factsheet: Employment Rights Act 2025 – Overview.

  • Whistleblower protections (anticipated adoption April 2026). ERA 2025 strengthens “…protections for whistleblowers, by making it clear that workers who ‘blow the whistle’ on sexual harassment can benefit from whistleblowing protections against detriment (adverse treatment) and unfair dismissal.”
  • Third party harassment (anticipated adoption October 2026). In addition to covering actions committed by another worker, the ERA 2025 will put in place “…an obligation on employers to not permit harassment of their employees by third parties” (such as customers or suppliers) or agents (such as consultants) acting on behalf of the employer. This means “Employers will be liable for third party harassment (covering all types of harassment not just sexual harassment) unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it,” according to What’s happening in employment in 2026?

For more details related to the pending chronology of ERA 2025, see Employment Rights Act timeline.

Actions for employers 

The Worker Protection Act 2023 became law on 1 January 2024. It came into force on 26 October 2024.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has taken responsibility for enforcement. Under the Worker Protection Act 2023, employers will be penalised for breaching their legal duty and failing to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The “stronger duty to prevent sexual harassment…will not take effect until 2027, after the obligation itself has come into force,” according to What’s in the Employment Rights Act?

If an employee succeeds in an employee tribunal claim of sexual harassment due to a breach under the Worker Protection Act 2023, then compensation for the violation could be increased by up to 25%. Additional details regarding enforcement and other measures are explained in the EHRC’s updated Sexual harassment and harassment at work: technical guidance, which was published on 26 September 2024.

Conclusion 

With the passage of the Worker Protection Act 2023, employers may benefit from taking proactive steps, such as evaluating their existing policies, undertaking risk assessments, reviewing their complaint procedures, and implementing staff training on sexual harassment. This may help organisations prepare for the EHRC’s enforcement of the Act.

The information contained within this resource was accurate at the time of its publication. It was created in January 2024 and updated in January 2026.

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