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Protecting staff from sexual harassment: your role

Employers have a legal duty to protect staff from sexual harassment. Find out what reasonable steps your school/trust should be taking and how you can monitor this.

Last reviewed on 8 April 2026See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 44853
Contents
  1. Employers must take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment 
  2. Your school/trust must show it took 'all reasonable steps' to prevent sexual harassment
  3. Your school/trust should take a proactive approach
  4. Ask your leaders to review their policies 
  5. Questions to ask to hold your leaders to account

FusionHR helped us with this article. The Key, GovernorHub's parent company, is a minority investor in FusionHR. 

Employers must take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment 

Harassment is defined as:

  • Unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual

Sexual harassment is defined as:

  • Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. This includes verbal or written harassment, as well as physical harassment such as touching

This is set out in the Equality Act 2010.

Take 'all reasonable steps' to prevent sexual harassment – currently law says 'reasonable steps' Not permit any type of harassment of their employees by third parties (e.g. a visitor to your school site) – this is a strengthened requirement coming into force, where employers will be liable for harassment from third parties unless they have taken all reasonable