Harassment is a legal word, not just a workplace one

Updated September 2026

People use harassment for any ugly behaviour at work. The claim that has a six-month clock from 1 October 2026 (three months less a day before that) is a narrower legal word. You do not have to wait for a dismissal to use it.

What the Act actually covers

Protected characteristics include sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, and marriage and civil partnership. Unwanted conduct related to those can be harassment even if it was not aimed at you, and even if the person says they were joking. Sexual harassment is a specific form. Bullying that has no link to a protected characteristic may still be a grievance, a constructive dismissal risk, or a breach of contract. It is not automatically an Equality Act claim.

Workers as well as employees are covered. Agency staff and some contractors sit in the same statute. Third-party harassment — customers, patients, clients — is back in the political argument; do not assume a duty that has not commenced. Check the Employment Rights Act timeline for anything still staged.

The preventative duty

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 added a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers. It has been in force since 26 October 2024. It is not a promise that nothing will happen. It is a reason tribunals can uplift compensation when an employer did nothing serious to prevent it. Policies in a drawer are not the whole duty. Training, reporting routes, and what happens after a complaint are.

The clock

Discrimination and harassment claims use the act date, not the date you felt ready to talk. From 1 October 2026 the ordinary window is six months less a day; before that it is three months less a day. Acas early conciliation pauses the clock. A grievance, an investigation, or an appeal does not. Read discrimination time limits and run the calculator if the date is close.

What to do next

Write the incidents while the dates are still in your head: who, when, what was said, who saw it. Report it through the route the handbook names, and keep a copy. If you are not safe to stay, that is a constructive dismissal and welfare question as well as a harassment one. Speak to Acas, a solicitor, or your union before you resign on a deadline.