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Employment Rights Act 2025 and Worker Protection Act updates 2026: What Employers Need to Know, and What’s Coming Next
- Flick Learning
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
The Worker Protection Act (or, to use its full name, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023) has already reshaped how organisations prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace.
The core message is simple: employers must take proactive steps to stop sexual harassment before it happens, not just react after complaints.
April 2026 marks the next stage of wider employment law reform – with the Worker Protection Act focused specifically on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, alongside the Employment Rights Act 2025 introducing broader changes to employee rights, protections, and working conditions.
Together, these changes reflect a broader shift in UK employment law towards prevention, protection, and accountability.
Below is a clear summary of what’s changing in April, and a look ahead to more changes that are expected in October 2026. We'll look at:
Where We Are Now
Since October 2024, employers have been under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace under the Worker Protection Act, which includes:
putting clear policies in place
training staff regularly
taking action where risks are identified.
This is the foundation for the 2026 updates.
April 2026 Changes: What’s Being Strengthened
April 2026 sees a range employment law updates introduced from both the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the Worker Protection Act. These directly impact how employers meet their duties around harassment, reporting, and employee protection. Let’s look at some of these now.
Stronger Links Between Sexual Harassment and Whistleblowing
One of the most important developments is the closer alignment between sexual harassment reporting and whistleblowing protections. In practice, this means:
employees raising concerns about sexual harassment now have the same protection status as whistleblowing disclosures, meaning protection from detrimental treatment
employers must ensure reporting routes are clear, confidential, and trusted
harassment and whistleblowing policies need to work together, not separately.
For many organisations, this will require a rethink of how concerns are handled from first report through to resolution.
Greater Focus on Speaking-Up Culture
April also reinforces the importance of creating an environment where people feel able to raise concerns. This includes employers now being expected to:
promote open and transparent reporting
prevent victimisation
demonstrate leadership commitment to addressing issues.
This goes beyond compliance and moves firmly into workplace culture.
Updated Protections for New and Expectant Mothers
Changes coming into force in April also strengthen protections for employees who are pregnant or returning from maternity leave. This includes clearer expectations around:
fair treatment during pregnancy
protection from dismissal
support when returning to work.
These updates mean employers must ensure their policies, processes, and training reflect current legal expectations.
Other Headline April Changes
You may also have seen wider employment reforms being discussed, including:
developments in flexible working rights
day-one rights changes in some areas
broader employment protections under government reform plans.
While not all are directly linked to harassment, they contribute to a wider shift towards stronger employee protections and accountability for employers.
October 2026 Preview: What’s Coming Next
October 2026 is expected to bring further developments that build on the preventative duty introduced in 2024, particularly in how that duty is applied and enforced in practice.
Increased Focus on Preventative action
Employers are likely to face greater expectations around demonstrating that they are actively preventing harassment, including:
regularly reviewing workplace risks
taking action based on identified issues
ensuring training is effective, role-based and up to date.
Third-Party Harassment in Focus
There is now protection against sexual harassment by third parties, such as:
customers
clients
service users.
Employers will need to show they have taken reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from third parties and respond to these risks.
Greater Scrutiny and Evidence
Tribunals and regulators are increasingly expecting employers to evidence what they are doing, which means:
clear training records
documented actions
ongoing monitoring and improvement.
What This Means for flick learning Courses
At flick we’re always one step ahead when it comes to keeping the flick library up to date – there’s plenty happening behind the scenes right now.
Where applicable, we are rolling out updates linked to the 2026 changes, including those derived from the Worker Protection Act and wider reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025.
This means updates to our Sexual Harassment Awareness, Whistleblowing, and New and Expectant Mothers at Work courses.
We also have a brand-new Sexual Harassment for Managers course planned for later this year to meet the requirement for role-based sexual harassment training.
The course will focus on:
manager accountability and liability
preventative duty and the role of managers in that
risk assessment (including highlighting common risky situations)
proactive prevention
responding to disclosures and complaints sensitively
record-keeping and defensible decision-making
leadership, culture and prevention
creating an inclusive, zero-tolerance environment
third-party harassment responsibilities
monitoring, learning and continuous improvement.
How Can I Train my Staff on Worker Protection Act and Employment Rights Act Changes in 2026?
Together, the Worker Protection Act and Employment Rights Act 2025 signal a clear shift towards safer workplaces, stronger employee protections, and greater accountability for employers.
Training your staff in these areas is essential, particularly as expectations around prevention, reporting, and protection continue to grow.
Signing up to flick learning’s simple e-learning subscription gives you and your staff unlimited access to the flick library of 155+ award-winning e-learning courses, across a range of soft skills, safeguarding, and compliance topics – and much more!
If your organisation already has its own Learning Management System, you can also licence any flick course or bundle of courses to sit directly on your own platform.
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