Harassment by customers and clients

Employers must not permit the harassment of their employees by third parties, for example, customers and clients. This provision covers all types of harassment under the Equality Act 2010.

From 30 October 2026, employers will be liable for harassment from third parties unless they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.

Who counts as a third party

Many people are harassed at work by someone who is not a colleague. It might be a customer in a shop, a patient on a ward, a passenger on a train, a parent at a school gate or a client on a video call.

A third party is anyone other than your employer or a colleague employed by your employer. Acas describes a third party as anyone a worker is in contact with through work, who can be someone who does not work for the employer. Its examples include shoppers and business clients, people receiving services such as students or patients, self-employed contractors, event attendees, and members of the public in shared spaces. Staff of another company working on the same site, such as security or cleaning contractors, can also be third parties.

The harassment can happen in person, by phone, by email, in online meetings or through social media, as long as it happens in the course of your work.

Which harassment the new rule covers

The rule is not limited to sexual harassment. It applies to harassment as defined in section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. That means unwanted conduct related to one of the following characteristics, which has the purpose or effect of violating your dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• race
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

It also covers sexual harassment, and less favourable treatment because you rejected or gave in to sexual conduct.

Pregnancy and maternity, and marriage and civil partnership, are not covered by the harassment provisions in section 26. Treatment linked to those characteristics may still be discrimination under other sections of the Act.

Rudeness or aggression from a customer that has no link to one of these characteristics does not fall under section 40. Your employer still owes you a duty of care for your health and safety, and you can raise a grievance about it.

The law before 30 October 2026

For more than a decade, the law gave employees harassed by a customer or client limited help against their employer. The Equality Act 2010 originally made employers liable for harassment by third parties, but only after the employer knew of at least two earlier incidents. That rule was repealed in 2013. Since then, an employee harassed by a customer has had to show that the employer's response was itself harassment or discrimination. That is often hard to prove.

Since 26 October 2024, section 40A of the Equality Act 2010 has required employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, including harassment by third parties. That duty does not give you a standalone claim, and it does not cover harassment related to race, disability or other characteristics.

What changes on 30 October 2026

Section 21 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 inserts new subsections into section 40 of the Equality Act 2010. Under section 40(1A), an employer must not permit a third party to harass an employee. Under section 40(1B), the employer permits the harassment if the third party harassed you in the course of your work and your employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it.

In practice, this means your claim is against your employer. You do not need to show your employer knew about earlier incidents, although what it knew will affect which steps were reasonable. Your employer can avoid liability only by showing it took all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.

The new rule applies to harassment that happens on or after 30 October 2026. Harassment before that date falls under the earlier law described above.

An example

A pharmacy assistant serves a regular customer who makes remarks about her religion each time she wears a headscarf. In November 2026, the remarks happen on three visits. She reports each one to the store manager, who tells her the customer is harmless and moves on. The pharmacy has no policy on customer behaviour, no notices for customers, and no record of the reports.

On these facts, the employer has not taken all reasonable steps. It could have warned the customer, refused him service, recorded each incident, changed who served him, or made clear to customers that abuse of staff is not accepted. Under section 40(1A) of the Equality Act 2010, the pharmacy assistant could bring a harassment claim against her employer.

Compare an employer that records each report, warns the customer in writing after the first incident, bans him after the second, and checks in with the assistant. That employer is far more likely to show it took all reasonable steps.

What all reasonable steps can look like

ACAS guidance says employers should assess the risk of harassment from third parties and act on it. What is reasonable depends on the size and resources of the employer and the risks in the job. Examples include:

• a written policy on harassment by customers and clients, shared with staff
• notices telling customers what happens if they harass staff
• training for staff and managers on staying safe and calming tense situations
• enough staff on each shift, and security where the risk is high
• a clear reporting route, so staff know who to tell and what will happen next
• recording every report, so repeated behaviour is spotted
• warning, refusing service to or banning customers who harass staff
• terms in client contracts about how the client's staff must behave

Acas states: taking all reasonable steps means doing what is possible with the available resources. A small café will not be expected to match a national chain, but it must still act.

What you can do

1. Record each incident on the day: the date, the time, the person's name or description, the exact words or conduct, and who saw it.
2. Report every incident in writing to your manager, and keep a copy.
3. Ask your employer what steps it has taken to prevent harassment by customers or clients, and ask for the relevant policy.
4. If nothing changes, raise a formal grievance in writing.
5. Contact ACAS to start ACAS Early Conciliation before your time limit ends.

Since 1 October 2026, the time limit for most tribunal claims is 6 months. If the problem started before 1 October 2026, the 3 month limit may still apply. Where harassment is repeated, the date of the most recent incident usually decides which limit applies. Read how long you have to make a claim for more detail.

Victimisation after a complaint

Section 27 of the Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for your employer to treat you badly because you complained of harassment, or supported a colleague who did. This is victimisation. Being taken off shifts, given worse duties or criticised for "making a fuss" after a report can be evidence of it.

For the duty your employer has to prevent sexual harassment by anyone, read what your employer must do to prevent sexual harassment.

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