2026 Workplace Harassment Law Changes: How Staff Safety Training Can Help
From 30 October 2026, employers across England, Scotland and Wales will face stronger legal responsibilities around preventing workplace harassment, including harassment of staff by customers, clients, service users and other third parties. Employers will also be required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment. For organisations of all types, this puts greater focus on the practical steps they take to protect staff - and ACAS specifically identifies staff safety and de-escalation training as one of the measures employers may need to consider.
How our Staff Safety, Conflict Management & De-escalation Training supports staff
Our CPD Accredited training is built around four core areas: Awareness, Prevention, Mindset and Physical Self Defence.
Together, these give staff practical skills to recognise and manage difficult or escalating behaviour, set and defend boundaries, de-escalate conflict, know when to disengage and protect themselves if a situation becomes threatening.
This is where our training can make a practical difference for staff dealing with inappropriate, intimidating, aggressive or escalating behaviour.
1. Recognising risk and escalating behaviour
Difficult situations do not always begin with an obvious threat.
An interaction may start with:
inappropriate or personal comments
someone repeatedly pushing a boundary
changes in tone or body language
frustration or aggression
someone moving increasingly close
behaviour that simply does not feel right
Our training helps staff develop self, situational, environmental and behavioural awareness, alongside an understanding of different behaviours, motivations and types of violence - including emotional violence.
This helps people recognise when an interaction is changing and shows them how to make decisions earlier, rather than waiting until a situation has already escalated.
2. Understanding conflict and why people behave the way they do
A key part of conflict management is understanding what may be driving someone’s behaviour - as well as our own.
Our workshops explore different types of violence and aggression, including social and anti-social violence, emotional and psychological violence, and common motivations such as:
disrespect
disempowerment
displaced aggression
Understanding these behaviours can help staff make better decisions about how to respond.
Not every angry or difficult person presents the same risk, and not every situation should be handled in the same way.
The aim is to help staff recognise what may be happening, understand how conflict can develop and choose an appropriate response.
3. Setting and defending boundaries
Harassment, aggression and inappropriate behaviour do not always begin with something obviously threatening.
They may start with:
an inappropriate comment
banter or joking
unwanted personal or sexual remarks
somebody invading personal space
repeated attempts to continue an unwanted conversation
persistent boundary-pushing
intimidating behaviour
someone refusing to accept a clear “no”
Our training covers setting and defending clear boundaries, alongside confidence, self-worth and resilience.
In a workplace setting, this can help staff feel more confident about:
challenging inappropriate behaviour
clearly stating a boundary
ending an interaction
creating distance
involving a colleague or manager
seeking support
removing themselves from the situation
This can be especially important in roles where staff feel pressure to remain polite or accommodating because they are dealing with a customer, client, patient, service user or member of the public.
Being professional does not mean having to tolerate behaviour that is inappropriate, intimidating or unsafe.
4. verbal de-escalation
ACAS specifically includes training workers in staff safety and de-escalation as an example of a step employers could take to help prevent third-party harassment.
In our training we help staff think about:
how they communicate when someone becomes difficult or confrontational
how tone and body language can affect an interaction
how to stay calm under pressure
how to avoid unnecessarily escalating a situation
when it may be possible to reduce tension
when de-escalation is working
when continuing the conversation is no longer productive
when it is safer to disengage and get support
De-escalation does not mean accepting inappropriate behaviour.
It means having practical tools to manage an interaction while keeping safety at the centre of the response.
5. Body language, movement and positioning
Personal safety is not just about what we say.
Our training also explores body language, movement and positioning, helping staff think about how their physical environment can affect their safety.
For example:
Where is the nearest exit?
Is somebody standing between you and the door?
Are they continuing to move closer when you move away?
Can you reposition yourself safely?
Are you becoming trapped behind a desk or in a confined space?
Can another colleague be brought into the interaction?
What is your own body language communicating?
These can sound like small considerations, but they can make a significant difference when an interaction becomes uncomfortable or starts to escalate.
6. Trusting instinct and acting earlier
People often recognise that something does not feel right before they can clearly explain why.
Our training encourages staff to pay attention to that instinct rather than automatically dismissing it.
The aim is not to make people fearful or suspicious.
It is to help them recognise discomfort, assess what is happening and take appropriate action earlier.
Sometimes acting earlier can prevent a difficult situation becoming a dangerous one.
7. Knowing when to disengage
One of the most important messages within Streetwise training is that you do not have to “win” an interaction.
Conflict management and de-escalation have limits.
There may come a point where trying to reason with someone, explain a decision or calm them down is no longer working.
At that point the priority changes.
Staff need to feel able to prioritise their own safety over continuing an interaction that is becoming increasingly unsafe.
8. Physical Self Defence – A Valuable Life Skill
The physical element of our training is not about encouraging staff to use physical techniques in workplace situations. In most work-based incidents, the priority should be prevention, de-escalation, disengagement and getting support.
However, physical self defence is still a valuable life skill, which is why we include it as part of the wider Streetwise programme.
We can demonstrate simple, lower-impact techniques that focus on:
breaking free from grabs
creating space
using movement and positioning to escape
using the voice confidently
getting away and getting to safety
These techniques are taught as a last resort and are designed to be simple, instinctive and accessible to ordinary people. We don’t teach martial arts and there is no requirement to participate in any of the physical - it can be learned by watching the demonstrations.
The aim is not to fight or confront someone. It is to give people greater confidence in their ability to protect themselves and escape if they ever face a threatening situation, whether at work or in everyday life.
9. Training around the situations your staff actually face
Every organisation is different.
The situations faced by employees working in healthcare may be different from those encountered in local government, retail, hospitality, education, professional services or office environments.
That is why our workshops can include discussion around the real situations staff are experiencing.
Depending on the organisation, these might include:
a customer becoming aggressive after being given an answer they do not like
unwanted attention or sexual remarks
someone refusing to respect a boundary
a service user becoming increasingly confrontational
someone invading an employee’s personal space
a lone worker becoming uncomfortable with a client
conflict between individuals in the workplace
someone refusing to leave or end an interaction
Flexible training that can be put in place quickly
With the law changing on 30 October 2026, some organisations may want to strengthen staff training quickly.
Streetwise Defence can deliver our Staff Safety, Conflict Management & De-escalation Training in several ways.
1. In-person workshops
Our in-person sessions are ideal for organisations wanting an interactive training experience with plenty of opportunity for discussion.
Sessions can include:
workplace-specific examples
practical demonstrations
discussion of difficult or escalating situations
questions from staff
physical personal-safety content where appropriate
2. Live online training
For organisations wanting to get training in place quickly, our live online workshops can be delivered remotely to teams wherever they are based.
This can work particularly well for:
geographically dispersed teams
multiple sites
remote employees
organisations with limited time to organise face-to-face training
teams where taking everyone away from work at the same time is difficult
The session can still be tailored around the situations employees encounter and cover awareness, boundaries, conflict management, verbal de-escalation and practical personal safety.
Benefits that go beyond the workplace
One of the strengths of Streetwise training is that the skills are not limited to a particular job or workplace.
Staff can use what they learn in everyday life too.
The same awareness, boundaries, de-escalation and personal-safety skills can support people when:
travelling
socialising
using public transport
walking alone
dealing with unwanted attention
managing difficult encounters outside work
supporting family members with personal safety
So organisations are not simply giving employees information about a workplace issue.
They are giving them practical life skills that can help improve confidence and personal safety far beyond the working day.
Our training can also help people feel:
more confident setting boundaries
more aware without becoming fearful
better prepared for difficult situations
clearer about their options
more confident about taking action when something does not feel right
For many organisations, that wider confidence and wellbeing benefit is an important part of the value of the training.
How we can support your organisation
Streetwise Defence provides CPD-accredited Staff Safety, Conflict Management & De-escalation Training for organisations across the UK.
Our training can be tailored around the situations your staff actually face and delivered in person or live online.
With the October 2026 changes approaching, it is an opportunity to consider not only the policies and procedures you have in place, but whether staff have the practical skills and confidence to deal with inappropriate, difficult or escalating behaviour when it happens.
Find out more about our wider Corporate Self Defence Training or get in touch to discuss the most appropriate training option for your organisation.