Nearly one in eight employers does not provide sexual harassment training, as key Employment Rights Act deadline arrives
Summary
A poll of 464 HR professionals by VinciWorks in March finds 81% plan to increase efforts on sexual harassment prevention under the Employment Rights Act, yet current practice is patchy: only 5% rate their training as excellent and 12% provide no sexual harassment training at all. From 6 April 2026 sexual‑harassment disclosures become protected whistleblowing, and a tougher duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent harassment (plus third‑party liability) comes into force in October 2026.
Confidence in whistleblowing procedures is low — just 5% are completely confident. Bystander intervention training is widely desired (45%) but rarely implemented (9% include it annually). VinciWorks highlights tribunal risk where stale or inadequate training has already been treated as no defence, citing the Lidl case with an award of over £50,000 and a binding remediation agreement.
Key Points
- 81% of HR professionals say they will increase activity on sexual harassment prevention under the ERA.
- Only 5% rate current sexual harassment training as excellent; 43% say it is “OK, could be better”; 12% provide no training at all.
- From 6 April 2026, sexual‑harassment disclosures are protected as whistleblowing — employees must not face detriment for reporting.
- A more demanding legal duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent harassment, and liability for third‑party harassment, takes effect in October 2026.
- Only 5% are completely confident in their whistleblowing procedures; around 39% are fairly confident and 25% are slightly or not confident.
- 45% want to introduce bystander training but have not done so; only 9% include it in annual training.
- Tribunals may treat inadequate or outdated training as no defence — the Lidl case is cited as a clear warning.
Why should I read this?
Short and blunt: if you look after people, payroll or compliance, this is a wake‑up call. The law is changing now, and many employers haven’t got the training or procedures in place. We’ve read the detail and flagged the parts that could cost you time, money and reputation.
Context and Relevance
This is important because it ties actual workplace practice to imminent statutory change. The April change immediately increases legal risk by classifying sexual‑harassment reports as protected disclosures; October’s tougher duty and third‑party liability raise the bar for what counts as reasonable prevention steps. HR, legal and leadership teams need to review training, grievance and whistleblowing interactions, and consider bystander training and documented evidence of prevention measures to reduce tribunal exposure.