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Could your organisation confidently prove it has done enough to prevent harassment? That’s a question more leaders are being asked as legal expectations continue to evolve.
In this guest blog, Jo Morgan, founder of Engendering Change Ltd, explains why bullying, harassment and sexual harassment are no longer just HR issues, but significant business risks. Drawing on her work with organisations in housing, construction, facilities management and the public sector, Jo explores how leaders can move beyond policies and compliance to build professional standards that genuinely protect people, reputation and organisational trust.
By Jo Morgan
20 July 2026
Protect Your Clients. Protect Your Colleagues. Protect Your Company.
For many organisations, bullying, harassment and sexual harassment have traditionally been viewed as HR issues to deal with when something goes wrong.
Increasingly, however, they are board-level business risks.
A single incident can result in legal action, regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage, lost contracts and a significant loss of trust. For organisations whose people work directly with customers, residents or members of the public, the stakes are even higher.
In October 2024, the Equality Act was formally updated to introduce a proactive duty requiring employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Employers are no longer judged solely on how they respond to complaints; they are increasingly expected to demonstrate the action they took to prevent them from happening in the first place.
That responsibility extends beyond relationships between colleagues. Employers must also consider the risk of harassment involving customers, clients, contractors and members of the public. For many sectors, this fundamentally changes the way behavioural risk should be managed.
Take hospitality. Sexual comments directed at bar staff can no longer be dismissed as “part of the job”. Employers must be able to demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps to prevent and address that behaviour.
The same applies across housing, construction, utilities, maintenance, care and property services, where employees regularly enter customers’ homes. These staff become the public face of the organisation, representing its values inside someone else’s private space. That creates risk in both directions.
Residents must be protected from inappropriate behaviour by staff. Equally, employees must be protected when they experience harassment, intimidation or unwanted sexual behaviour from residents or customers.
Imagine a routine repair visit. A contractor makes a joke that a resident finds offensive. Or a resident makes sexual comments towards a young apprentice who has never been taught how to respond or report the incident. Neither situation begins as a legal case. Both can quickly become one if organisations have failed to prepare their people.
Legal expectations are expected to strengthen further this year, increasing the emphasis on employers demonstrating they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
That means organisations can no longer rely on policies that remain unread or generic e-learning that simply records completion.
The real question is not whether a policy exists. It is whether people understand it, apply it consistently and have the confidence to act when something doesn’t feel right.
That is where many organisations discover the gap. Most already have Codes of Conduct. Most have policies. Most genuinely want to do the right thing. What they often lack is confidence that those standards are understood, embedded and reflected in everyday behaviour.
Over the past year, we have worked with organisations across housing, construction, facilities management and other high-trust environments to help close that gap.
We consistently find that meaningful conversations about professional standards change behaviour far more effectively than compliance exercises alone. Staff begin to recognise where the line sits: between banter and bullying, friendliness and over-familiarity, humour and harassment. They understand the responsibility that comes with representing their organisation, whether in the workplace, on site or inside a customer’s home.
For organisations, the benefits extend far beyond compliance. They reduce behavioural risk. They strengthen reporting cultures. They build confidence in professional standards. They provide leaders with evidence that expectations are being understood and embedded across the workforce.
Professional conduct is no longer simply an HR issue. It is an organisational assurance issue.
The organisations that recognise this earliest will be the ones best placed to protect their clients, protect their colleagues and protect their company.
