How to prepare your organisation for strengthened harassment and whistleblowing rules

What has changed?

As of 6 April 2026, workers who report sexual harassment at work can benefit from protection under whistleblowing law. Concerns regarding sexual harassment are now automatically deemed to amount to “protected disclosures”. This change ensures that workers who report sexual harassment are protected under whistleblowing legislation against detriment and unfair dismissal as retaliation for having raised such concerns.

Although employees may have been able to rely on protection from discrimination or may have alleged that a sexual harassment concern was a “qualifying disclosure” for another reason (e.g. a breach of a legal obligation or a health and safety concern), reports of sexual harassment did not previously have the automatic benefit of whistleblower protection. That has now changed and potentially creates more scrutiny on employers in addressing such complaints.

It is still necessary for workers to demonstrate that they have a reasonable belief that the disclosure is made in the public interest. However, the change raises the legal bar for prevention, widens potential liability and makes it harder for concerns to be ignored or not dealt with appropriately.

Practical impact

This change creates a clear overlap between two frameworks that have traditionally been kept separate:

• Whistleblowing; and
• Sexual harassment procedures.

Employers will now need to decide which policy to follow in relation to sexual harassment complaints. It may still be reasonable to address complaints of this kind as a grievance, but employers should also recognise that the concerns have whistleblower protection.

Most organisations will (and should) continue to maintain separate whistleblowing and harassment policies and procedures. However, it is essential that these frameworks are joined up in practice with clear crossover mechanisms between the two, so that concerns can be handled appropriately regardless of how they are initially raised. 

Employers will need to ensure that staff reporting routes are clear and coherent, as well as ensuring staff feel safe to raise concerns. 

This includes:

• Clear escalation routes;
• Flexibility to move between procedures;
• Ability to run parallel processes; and
• Clarity for managers and HR.

A further implication of the change in the law is that confidentiality provisions will be void if they seek to prevent an employee making a protected disclosure relating to sexual harassment.

Action to take now

1. Update whistleblowing policies

Policies should refer explicitly to sexual harassment as a potential subject of protected disclosures, alongside other examples such as danger to health and safety. Policies should clarify how such concerns will be handled.

2. Update harassment and grievance policies

Policies should signpost to whistleblowing protections and make it clear that some complaints may be treated as protected disclosures.

3. Review investigation frameworks

Ensure processes can accommodate overlap and, where necessary, handling across two procedures concurrently.

4. Review use of confidentiality provisions

Ensure settlement agreements or other non-disclosure agreements are not being used to prevent disclosure of reports of sexual harassment, where they are also protected disclosures.

5. Identify and plug knowledge and skills gaps

Managers should receive training, so that they understand the change, how to handle the overlap in policies and reinforce the importance of avoiding detriment claims.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 Hub

With further reforms still to come throughout 2026 and 2027, now is not the time to stand still. Keep your organisation informed and prepared by visiting the Bevan Brittan Employment Rights Act Hub: www.bevanbrittan.com/employment-rights-hub.