From 6 April 2026, whistleblowing protections in the UK have been strengthened under the Employment Rights Act 2025, marking an important shift in how disclosures about sexual harassment are treated under the law. Read the fact sheet here.
The change is intended to provide greater clarity and confidence for workers who raise concerns, while also placing clearer compliance expectations on employers.
What Has Changed?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 amends the whistleblowing framework in the Employment Rights Act 1996 to make explicit that disclosures about sexual harassment can qualify as protected whistleblowing disclosures.
Previously, workers reporting sexual harassment had to argue that their disclosure fell under one of the existing categories of wrongdoing—most commonly a danger to health and safety. The law now removes that uncertainty by expressly including sexual harassment as a recognised form of wrongdoing for whistleblowing purposes.
Why This Matters
This legislative change provides clearer protection for workers who speak up in the public interest. Where the legal threshold is met, whistleblowers are entitled to protection from:
- Detriment, such as disciplinary action, denial of promotion, or victimisation; and
- Unfair dismissal, if the whistleblower is an employee.
The government has indicated that this clarity may also encourage more people to report sexual harassment through whistleblowing channels, rather than remaining silent due to fear of retaliation or legal uncertainty.
“Public Interest” Still Applies
The change does not mean that every complaint of sexual harassment will automatically amount to whistleblowing. To qualify for protection, the worker must still reasonably believe that their disclosure is made in the public interest.
In practice, this usually means that the concern affects others as well—for example, colleagues or service users—or raises systemic issues within an organisation. Tribunals may consider factors such as the seriousness of the behaviour, its potential impact, and who is involved when assessing whether the public interest test is met.
Timing of Harassment Is Not Determinative
The law also makes clear that a protected disclosure can relate to sexual harassment that has already occurred, is ongoing, or is likely to occur in the future.
This is particularly relevant where workers raise concerns about historic behaviour that points to wider cultural or governance failures within an organisation.
Who Is Covered?
The whistleblowing regime continues to apply to a wide range of workers, not just employees. Depending on status, this may include agency workers, contractors and trainees, provided the statutory criteria for whistleblowing are met.
The strengthened protection applies in England, Wales and Scotland, but does not extend to Northern Ireland, where employment law is devolved.
What Employers Should Be Doing Now
Although the change is narrow, its implications are significant. Employers should take this opportunity to:
- Review whistleblowing policies to ensure sexual harassment is clearly referenced as a potential protected disclosure.
- Train managers and HR teams to recognise whistleblowing concerns and avoid treating them as ordinary grievances.
- Ensure confidentiality and non‑retaliation safeguards are properly understood and applied.
- Re‑examine how whistleblowing processes interact with grievance and disciplinary procedures, particularly in sensitive harassment cases.
Failing to recognise a protected disclosure can expose employers to claims with no qualifying period and uncapped compensation.
A Cultural Shift, Not Just a Legal One
The new protection sits alongside wider reforms aimed at tackling workplace harassment and improving transparency. While the legislation does not change the fundamental structure of whistleblowing law, it sends a clear message: raising concerns about sexual harassment is a matter of public interest, not just personal grievance.
For organisations, the challenge is not only legal compliance, but fostering a culture where speaking up is taken seriously and handled responsibly.