Work Christmas party sexual harassment checklist for employers

The venue is booked, the invitations are out and someone has asked whether partners can come. This year the party is also the first one since the sexual harassment duties changed, and it is worth an hour of planning before anyone orders a drink.

That hour has three parts: decide what could go wrong on the night and what you will do about it, tell everyone the standards and who to go to, and agree what happens if someone raises a concern. Keep a note of each, because the note is what shows the planning happened.

As checked on 6 November 2026, two changes have been in force since 30 October 2026. An employer must now take all reasonable steps, rather than reasonable steps, to prevent sexual harassment of its employees in the course of their employment. Section 40A, Equality Act 2010. An employer must also not permit a third party to harass an employee, and it is treated as permitting that harassment only where it happens in the course of the employee's employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. Section 40, Equality Act 2010. Both were brought into force by regulation 3 of SI 2026/1065. The Act also gives ministers a power to set out, in regulations, steps that count as reasonable; the government timetable describes it as a power to make regulations at a later date, and none had been made or published in draft on the check date. Government implementation timetable. These rules apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is not covered here.

Treat the party as part of work

Acas says the duty applies "in the course of their employment", not just in the main workplace, and lists attending an office party as an example alongside travelling for work and meeting clients elsewhere. Acas on preventing harassment. Its guidance on sexual harassment names an environment where people are drinking alcohol and work-related social events among the higher risk factors to consider. Acas on preventing sexual harassment. A Christmas party is often both.

The guest list matters more than it used to. In the law, a third party is anyone other than you or your employees. Section 40, Equality Act 2010. At a party that can mean venue staff, a DJ, other groups sharing the room, clients or suppliers you invite, and partners and plus-ones. Acas's list of third parties includes people at conferences or events. Acas on preventing sexual harassment. The third-party rule is not limited to sexual harassment: Acas says employers are now liable for harassment from third parties as well as from other workers, unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. Acas on preventing harassment.

What follows from that is a record, not a rulebook. Acas explains all reasonable steps as doing what is possible with the available resources, and says some steps will not be possible for every organisation. It suggests recording why you have not taken a step you decided was not reasonable. Acas on preventing harassment.

Write a short risk note for the night

Acas's four-part method fits one event as well as a whole business: consider the risks, consider the steps that could reduce them, decide which of those steps are reasonable for you, and take them. It says there is no set list of steps that every employer must take. Acas on preventing sexual harassment.

A practical approach is a single page, written by whoever is organising the party and agreed with the owner. Questions worth answering on it:

• Is the room private, or shared with other groups or the public?
• Who outside the business is coming: clients, suppliers, partners?
• How is the drink arranged: a free bar, a tab with a limit, or tokens? Is food served throughout, and are there good non-alcoholic options?
• Who is in charge on the night, and will they stay sober?
• How does everyone get home, especially anyone travelling alone late?
• Who has said they will not come, and is there a reason the plan could change?

That last question is about inclusion as well as safety. Acas notes that religion or belief discrimination can happen at work social events. Acas on religion or belief discrimination. In an Acas example about a team whose socials were always at the pub, the agreed outcome was that social events should be varied and not always centred around alcohol. Acas example on work socials. A practical step is to include people who are on leave or off sick in the invitations, and to make attending a free choice.

If the venue is not yours, tell the venue manager before the night who your contact is and what you expect if a member of their staff, or another guest, behaves badly towards your people. Acas's third-party steps include reviewing supplier and customer terms so they carry the relevant parts of your policy, and telling customers the consequences of harassing workers. Acas on preventing harassment. For a party, the booking email is a reasonable place to do both.

Tell everyone the standards and who to go to

Acas lists "setting standards of behaviour for work social events" among the steps that build the right culture. It also says to make clear that sexual harassment is against the law, that you will never ignore or cover up a complaint, that it may lead to someone losing their job, and that no one will be disadvantaged for making a complaint unless they make it maliciously. Acas on preventing sexual harassment.

A practical approach is a short message a week before the party, sent in writing so there is a dated copy. Say that the party is a work event and the usual policy applies. Name two people to go to on the night, one of whom is not the usual line manager, because Acas says workers should have more than one way to report and be able to report to someone other than their manager. Acas on preventing sexual harassment. Say how people can raise something afterwards, including the next morning. If clients or partners are invited, a line in the invitation about the standards expected of everyone at the event is a reasonable step to consider.

If something happens on the night or after

The person in charge should know before the night what they will do if someone comes to them. Acas says to take any complaint seriously, handle it fairly and sensitively, and look into it as quickly as possible. Do not doubt a complaint simply because nobody else saw it, and do not move the person who complained unless they ask to be moved. Think very carefully before suspending anyone, because there may be other options, such as temporarily separating the people involved. If someone says they have been sexually assaulted, encourage them to report it to the police without putting any pressure on them, support them if they do, and respect their decision if they do not. Acas on handling a sexual harassment complaint.

On the night, the practical priorities are the person's safety, a quiet place to talk, and a safe way home. Write down what you were told, by whom and when, while it is fresh. The formal steps come later and follow your usual procedures: a grievance for the person raising it, as in our guide to handling a grievance under the Acas Code, and where the person accused works for you, the disciplinary steps in our guide to misconduct and gross misconduct. Acas says that if the person does not want to make a formal complaint, you might still consider a disciplinary procedure against the person they are complaining about. Acas on handling a sexual harassment complaint.

Where the person accused is a guest, a client or venue staff, you cannot discipline them. A practical approach is to raise it with the venue or their employer, decide whether to change future arrangements with them, and record what you did and why.

The complaint may come from someone who saw what happened. Acas says a witness can report it or make a complaint themselves, and must not be victimised for doing so. Acas on witnessing sexual harassment. Since 6 April 2026 a report of sexual harassment can also be a protected whistleblowing disclosure, where the person reasonably believes it is in the public interest. Acas on the Employment Rights Act 2025; Section 43B, Employment Rights Act 1996. Our guide to telling a grievance from a protected disclosure covers running both at once.

Keep the file and give it an owner

The duty is about the steps you took, and the evidence is what you can produce. Where a tribunal finds sexual harassment, it must consider whether the employer also breached the duty to take all reasonable steps, and if so it can increase the compensation by up to 25 per cent. Section 124A, Equality Act 2010. The Equality and Human Rights Commission can also enforce the duty. Section 40A, Equality Act 2010.

For the party, the file is short: the risk note, the message to staff and the date it went out, the booking correspondence with the venue, the names of the contacts on the night, and a log of anything raised and what was done. Since 1 October 2026 the time limit for most tribunal claims has been six months rather than three. Government guidance on tribunal time limits. Keep the file with your other harassment-prevention records, not in the organiser's inbox.

Give one person the job of writing the risk note and sending the message this month, and a date to review both after the party. For detailed legal guidance, Acas points employers to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work; check its publication date against the 30 October 2026 changes when you read it. For a question about an individual concern, the Acas helpline or appropriate professional advice is the next step. If the party sits in a week when the business is closing, our guide to Christmas closure notice and holiday carry-over covers the notice dates.

Common questions

Is an employer responsible for harassment at the work Christmas party?

It can be. The duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment applies in the course of employment, and Acas gives attending an office party as an example of what that might include. Acas on preventing harassment. As checked on 6 November 2026, the duty has been one of all reasonable steps since 30 October 2026. Section 40A, Equality Act 2010.

Are we liable if a guest or venue staff harass an employee at the party?

Since 30 October 2026 an employer must not permit a third party to harass its employees, and it is treated as doing so only where the harassment happens in the course of employment and it failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. A third party is anyone other than the employer or its employees, so venue staff, clients and partners at a work party can be third parties. Section 40, Equality Act 2010.

Do we have to stop serving alcohol at the work party?

Neither the Equality Act nor Acas guidance requires a dry party. Acas lists an environment where people are drinking alcohol and work-related social events among the higher risk factors to consider in a risk assessment, and it says there is no set list of steps every employer must take. Acas on preventing sexual harassment. How the drink is arranged is one of the things to decide and write down.

What should we do if someone reports harassment after the party?

Acas says to take the complaint seriously, handle it fairly and sensitively, and look into it as quickly as possible. Do not move the person who complained unless they ask, and think very carefully before suspending anyone. Acas on handling a sexual harassment complaint. Acas also says you must follow a full and fair procedure in line with the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Acas on preventing sexual harassment. Seek appropriate advice on an individual case.