Short answer: From 30 October 2026, employers must not permit the harassment of their employees by third parties, which includes customers in pubs, cafes and shops. The Employment Rights Act 2025 measures also require employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. A written policy, risk assessment, staff briefing and incident log show those steps. Source: GOV.UK timeline.
Free check: two questions
From the official business.gov.uk and Acas guidance. Nothing you pick leaves this page.
Sources: business.gov.uk: sexual harassment and third-party harassment, Acas: harassment law changes.
What "all reasonable steps" looks like for a small venue
| Step Acas lists | What it means in a pub, cafe or shop |
|---|---|
| A policy covering third-party harassment | One page saying you don't permit customers to harass staff, what staff do, and what happens to customers who cross the line |
| Training workers | A 20-minute briefing: the law, what to do in the moment, how to report - plus manager scripts for warning, removing and barring |
| Telling customers the consequences | A counter poster and one line in your booking terms: harassment means no service |
| Incident tracking and reporting | A simple log: every incident, what was done, when a second strike means a ban |
Acas: "taking all reasonable steps means doing what is possible with the available resources" - and it recommends recording why steps you skipped were not reasonable for your business. The pack includes that record sheet too.
The Customer Harassment Duty Pack
- Plain-English guide: the 30 October 2026 changes, the third-party duty, the "all reasonable steps" standard, and the 6-month tribunal time limits live since 1 October 2026.
- Third-party harassment policy template - one page, ready to adapt.
- Risk assessment worksheet: bar, tables, deliveries, phones, lone working, events - the contact points inspectors and tribunals expect you to have thought about.
- Incident log (Excel) plus the "steps we considered" review record Acas recommends.
- Customer-facing wording: poster text, booking-terms line, refusal-of-service procedure.
- Manager scripts: first warning, asking someone to leave, the banning letter, and what to say to the worker afterwards.
What it is not: templates and checklists, not legal advice. The pack does not guarantee compliance; always follow the current official guidance linked inside.
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Questions
We're a two-person cafe. Does this really apply to us? Yes - the duty covers every employer. "All reasonable steps" scales with your resources, so a small venue is not expected to buy bodycams. But doing nothing is not an option, and Acas's own example of failing the duty is a small shop whose owner told staff abuse was "part of the job".
Does this cover racist abuse from customers, or only sexual harassment? The third-party duty covers all harassment types under the Equality Act 2010 - sexual harassment and harassment related to a protected characteristic (except pregnancy/maternity and marriage/civil partnership). The sexual-harassment preventive duty separately rises to "all reasonable steps" on the same day.
Is this legal advice? No. It is a template and checklist pack built from business.gov.uk, Acas and EHRC-linked guidance. Confirm your position against the official sources or with a qualified adviser.