Employment Rights Act April 2026 Whistleblowing and Sexual Harassment

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce significant changes to whistleblowing and sexual harassment law. This factsheet provides an overview of the change coming into force in April 2026, why the change matters, and what employers are required to do now.

What is changing?

• From 06 April 2026, sexual harassment will become a ‘qualifying disclosure’ under whistleblowing law
• This means that workers who raise concerns that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur are likely to have made a protected disclosure for the purposes of whistleblowing law (subject to the other requirements of a protected disclosure having been met)
• Where an employee has made a protected disclosure, they are protected from detriment (adverse treatment) and unfair dismissal on the basis that they have made such a disclosure. Crucially, the protection applies regardless of when the incident took place, covering past, present or anticipated harassment
• If an employee was to be dismissed, or subject to a detriment on the grounds that they had raised a complaint of sexual harassment, they would be entitled to bring a claim before the employment tribunal

What does this change mean?
Until now, an employee would have to assert that their sexual harassment disclosure fell under one of the existing whistleblowing categories, such as a criminal offence or danger to health and safety, in order to assert that they had raised a protected disclosure.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 resolves this uncertainty, amending the current whistleblowing legislation to expressly include sexual harassment to the list of wrongdoings under section 43B Employment Rights Act 1996, and making it explicit that a disclosure about sexual harassment can be a protected disclosure under whistleblowing legislation.

Following this amendment, employees gain a clear route to protection, and employers gain a clearer legal duty to respond. The Government aimed that this change would provide greater clarity, and encourage safer and earlier reporting without the fear of retaliation or dismissal that historically prevented many from coming forward.

How should employers prepare for this change?

1. Update Whistleblowing Policies

Policies should explicitly list sexual harassment as an example of wrongdoing, alongside other examples such as danger to health and safety. Government guidance encourages employers to prepare well ahead of April 2026.

2. Update Sexual Harassment Policies

Make clear that employees are entitled to raise concerns about sexual harassment in accordance with the whistleblowing policy should they choose, if this is not included as an avenue already.

3. Train Management

Managers should receive training, so that they understand the change being introduced, and that any detriment or dismissal on the grounds that someone has blown the whistle is unlawful.

Other Notable Changes

This change follows the introduction of the Worker Protection Act 2023, which came into force on 26 October 2024 and introduced a proactive duty on UK employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees.

Further developments will take place in October 2026 enabled by the Employment Rights Act 2025, and organisations will then be required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment, a significantly higher threshold.

The same reforms will also reintroduce and expand liability for third party harassment in October 2026, which will include harassment based on any protected characteristic and sexual harassment. Individuals will be able to bring a claim of third party harassment against their employer to an employment tribunal, and employers will be liable for harassment by third parties unless ‘all reasonable steps’ to protect them have been taken. Employers should ensure that the nature of any contact with third parties, including the type of third party, environment and frequency of the contact is considered within risk assessments.

These changes are important, requiring employers to adopt a preventative approach to sexual harassment, rather than a reactive response.

If you have queries or questions in respect of the changes coming into force under the Employment Rights Act 2025, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the AfterAthena team (part of the Napthens Group) who are able to offer 30 minutes of free advice to QCS members.