People manager guide: How to tackle sexual harassment

A range of behaviours recognised to be forms of sexual harassment are listed below. However, this list is not exhaustive. It is important to bear in mind that sexual harassment covers a very broad spectrum of behaviour, and may not always appear to be overtly sexual in nature, but can include:  

• Sexual images displayed or shared.
• Offensive words or comments.
• Demeaning or humiliating behaviour or language.
• References to someone’s body.
• Intrusive questions about someone’s private life.
• Stalking, including online stalking.
• Sexual gestures, such as simulating sexual acts.
• Unwanted touching, such as putting a hand on someone’s knee or hugging them.
• Unwanted sexual attention whether verbal or physical.
• Coercing someone into sexual relations through pressure, manipulation or threats, or offering rewards in exchange for sex.
• Sexual violence, including rape, or threatening to carry out sexual violence or unwanted sexual acts.

Sexual harassment is likely to be a disciplinary offence and, in some cases, may also be a criminal offence. 

Although women are more likely to experience sexual harassment, it can happen to anyone. Sexual harassment does not always occur in plain sight. It can happen in-person and online, and outside of as well as during normal working hours. Regardless of when and how it occurs, any sexual harassment involving employees should be considered a workplace issue. 

Managers should act as role models by consistently demonstrating respectful and inclusive behaviour. This includes being aware of how their own status and actions may impact on others. In addition to self-awareness, managers should regularly seek and act on feedback from their team and peers.

Preventing sexual harassment is part of a manager’s wider remit to take action to prevent all forms of unlawful harassment. Managers should communicate that any form of unfair treatment and unaccepatable or offensive behaviour, not just sexual harassment, will not be tolerated. Offensive behaviour can sometimes be excused as banter or jokes, so managers need to maintain high standards, even when they may face criticism and negativity for doing so. They also need to have the confidence and capability to be proactive and deal with unacceptable behaviour at the earliest possible stage. 

Managers are also well placed to pick up on any underlying tensions in their team that could indicate potentially inappropriate behaviours or attitudes between staff, or from an external situation, where team members may be experiencing inappropriate behaviour from a third party. These may include employees being unwilling to work together, heated exchanges or perceived favouritism. Equally, behaviours that are out of character, such as increased absence or a drop in performance, can indicate that something is not right in the workplace. Open communication and reinforcing values based on dignity and respect can help managers to understand and resolve issues in their team quickly, effectively and impartially. If the unacceptable behaviour appears to be from a third party, managers also need to model proactive action to address this.

One of the most important actions to prevent sexual harassment is to create an inclusive culture where everyone is treated with dignity and fairness and feel able to raise concerns. Micro-managing can undermine a positive culture, and therefore managers should act in a way that empowers people and demonstrates trust. They should also clearly follow procedures and ensure their decision-making is open, fair and evidence based. Providing their team with regular updates about issues that affect them can help avoid negative behaviours that may escalate, such as gossiping or backstabbing. Managers also need to avoid behaviours that reinforce stereotypes. 

Managers may also wish to refer to the CIPD’s factsheet on personal relationships in the workforce. If a romantic relationship is consensual and therefore does not constitute sexual harassment, managers will still need to consider implications for the team. Where personal relationships occur, it is important to be aware of the potential risks for team dynamics and prevent behaviours like potential favouritism or abuse of power imbalances. It is not advisable for managers to have a romantic relationship with someone they manage, and this should be discussed with HR.

All employees should receive training and/or education on what constitutes sexual harassment, as well as how to report alleged harassment. Managers may receive additional training on how to spot and deal with potential sexual harassment behaviours, as well as how to support employees who have been victims of, or have witnessed, sexual harassment. Managers should ensure everyone in their team is aware of expected standards of behaviour and what constitutes sexual harassment. They should also be aware of when to refer to more specialist support, which people professionals will be able to advise on.

Managers are often the first point of contact for receiving reports of sexual harassment. It is important that managers are also alert to any signs of inappropriate behaviour, as employees may be reluctant to report it due to fear of potential negative implications for themselves or their careers. Providing reassurance and demonstrating that issues raised are taken seriously can encourage team members to report any concerns. Managers who receive a report of sexual harassment, whether formally or informally, or believe that a report should be made, should follow their organisation’s procedure and seek advice from people professionals.

Managers have a key role in ensuring sexual harassment is effectively reported and dealt with. A manager’s openness to receiving reports and acting on them will send a strong signal that sexual harassment is taken seriously. Therefore, all reports of sexual harassment should be treated seriously and sensitively. It is also important to handle each complaint fairly. 

Your organisation may have its own guidance on how to handle a situation when an employee raises an incident of sexual harassment with a manager. In advance of being approached with a complaint, it can be helpful to consider how you would respond as a manager, and in particular:

• Know what your organisation’s policies and procedures are and where to find them. 
• Understand how to listen effectively – and with empathy. 
• Think of appropriate questions to ask if you do not understand aspects of what is being said. 
• Be alert to phrases/vocabulary which dismiss the concern and suggest you are not taking the matter seriously. 
• Consider how to deal with a request that you ‘do not do anything’ about the incident. 
• How to offer support and reassurance, with reference to any resources offered by the organisation. 
• Explain ‘what happens next’.   
• Managing the team day to day while the complaint is addressed. 

If a member of the team (or any employee) does approach you to report sexual harassment, you will need to find time to listen and take action, in accordance with your organisation’s policies. If there are no policies in place, you still need to deal with the matter as a priority.

Acas guidance encourages managers to think carefully about what they say during these conversations and to keep an open mind by not letting their own opinions influence the reporter. 

Although the organisation should have a specific process in place for reporting sexual harassment, you should bear in mind that reports might be received in different ways. For example, the report may be received from a bystander who has witnessed sexual harassment, or managers may spot something. If the report does not come directly from the person being harassed, managers should confidentially speak to the person affected and ideally encourage them to report. In cases where individuals are reluctant to report despite encouragement, employers still have an obligation to address the ‘disclosure’ of sexual harassment by the bystander, so as a manager you need to understand how to escalate or otherwise address concerns raised in this way as a ‘protected disclosure’ or ‘whistleblowing’.

Incidents of alleged sexual harassment should be documented via the organisation’s procedure. This ensures they can be dealt with consistently and provides the organisation with a realistic overview that can inform policy, strategy and change. 

While all reports should be dealt with as confidentially as possible, you should make it clear to the person reporting the incident that you may need to disclose information to others so the issue can be resolved. In line with Acas guidance, information should be handled confidentially, in accordance with your organisation’s data protection policy, and only shared on a strictly need-to-know basis. 

In some cases, it may be appropriate to resolve the issue informally, depending on the seriousness of the complaint and what the person affected wants to happen. Informal action is more likely to be an appropriate response in the case of general, untargeted behaviour at the very mild end of the spectrum of what might amount to sexual harassment. It might be that a member of staff who lacks the experience to understand what is or is not appropriate in a work environment makes an inappropriate comment on a ‘one off’ basis. This might be behaviour that could be dealt with on an informal, coaching type basis in the first instance. If there is any uncertainty at all, ask for advice on whether it is appropriate to try and resolve it informally and if you should offer this as an option. Whatever happens, the complainant should not be forced to confront the alleged harasser, nor to resolve the situation informally against their wishes.

All reports of sexual harassment should be treated seriously and investigated thoroughly. Protecting the person raising the complaint should be paramount. Alongside this, the alleged harasser also needs to be treated fairly in line with procedure and the law. Investigations should be conducted in accordance with organisational procedure and Acas guidance. 

In some cases, more immediate action may need to be taken, such as suspending or moving the alleged harasser. You should seek advice from people professionals before taking any formal action. Care must be taken to ensure no action is taken that could be perceived as punishing the person raising the complaint. 

Reporting sexual harassment takes courage and can be extremely stressful. Individuals raising the concern or complaint will need reassurance and support, and their performance is likely to be affected, especially while an investigation is ongoing. Bystanders who have witnessed sexual harassment may also require additional support. As well as providing opportunities to talk, managers can signpost employees to relevant services such as occupational health or counselling. You should also be vigilant for signs of victimisation, whereby an employee is treated less favourably because they have reported sexual harassment. If you suspect victimisation is occurring, you should speak to the person affected and encourage them to report it via the organisation’s procedures. Acas provides additional guidance on identifying and dealing with victimisation. 

From 30 October 2026, employers have a new duty ‘not to permit’ harassment by third parties. Managers will play an important role in understanding which of their employees will come into contact with third parties during the course of their employment, and in what contexts. Third parties can include: customers, clients, staff of partner companies, service users, parents or children of service users, and the general public. The contact can take place in the workplace controlled by the employer, but also in other locations where there might be only some, or even no control exercised by the employer, and in geographically remote locations – for example, staff attending a work-based conference organised by a third party that is taking place in a remote location. 

Managers have a number of roles to play in supporting the employer to fulfil this duty, including: 

• Feeding into the risk assessment process by providing information about how their teams interact with third parties. 
• Providing information about any staff or groups of staff who might be more vulnerable. 
• Supporting staff with information about how to protect themselves and access support if they are away from the workplace. 
• Ensuring that staff understand that they can and should make sure they place their own psychological and physical safety first if they are in an unsafe situation. 
• Being available to staff if they need to report a complaint. 
• Understanding how to escalate an incident of third-party harassment so that appropriate action is taken. 

This is a new duty on employers, so understanding what new policies and procedures are in place will be key for managers.