Sexual Harassment Allegations Between Colleagues in Healthcare: Law, Regulators and Outcomes
Sexual harassment of colleagues is now one of the areas regulators and courts treat most strictly. New employer duties have applied since October 2024 and tighten again on 30 October 2026. This guide explains the legal definition, what changes for employers this month, what the GMC and NMC require of professionals, including bystanders and leaders, how common it is, how recent tribunal and court decisions have turned out, and what to do if an allegation is made against you.
Reviewed October 2026 against the Equality Act 2010 as amended by the Worker Protection Act 2023 and the Employment Rights Act 2025, Acas guidance, GMC Good medical practice 2024 and boundaries guidance, NMC guidance FTP-3 and FTP-3a, NHS Staff Survey 2025 and published High Court and Court of Appeal judgments
Short answer: An allegation that you sexually harassed a colleague is treated as serious by every healthcare regulator. Unlike most workplace conduct, the NMC says it may act on a single reported incident, and the GMC's standards ban sexual behaviour towards colleagues that is meant to, or does, offend, embarrass, humiliate or distress them. The legal test focuses on the effect on the other person, not just your intention. Employers now have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, strengthened to all reasonable steps from 30 October 2026, so complaints are more likely to be investigated formally and referred. Recent cases show suspension is common, but courts have quashed sanctions they considered too lenient.
Key takeaways
- Comments, messages and images count, not only physical contact.
- What matters is how the conduct was reasonably perceived, not only what you meant.
- Seniority and power differences make allegations more serious.
- Doctors who witness harassment are expected to act, and leaders must act.
- Insight and remediation matter, but panels and courts are sceptical where there is a pattern.
This guide is about conduct towards colleagues and students. Sexual boundaries with patients are covered in our guide to professional boundaries, and non-sexual bullying in our guide to bullying allegations.
The legal definition
Section 26(2) of the Equality Act 2010 says a person sexually harasses another if they engage in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating the other person's dignity, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Section 26(3) also covers treating someone less favourably because they rejected or submitted to that conduct.
In deciding whether conduct had that effect, section 26(4) requires account to be taken of the perception of the person affected, the other circumstances of the case, and whether it is reasonable for the conduct to have that effect. In a 2024 appeal by a consultant against a GMC suspension, Altemimi v GMC, the judgment records that it "was reasonable for her to perceive that it created for her an adverse environment", which is the section 26(4) test in practice.
Employer duties: what changes on 30 October 2026
| Date | What the law requires |
|---|---|
| 26 October 2024 | Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023: employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Enforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, with a possible uplift to tribunal compensation. |
| 30 October 2026 | Employment Rights Act 2025: the duty becomes "all reasonable steps", employers must not permit third parties such as patients or visitors to harass employees, and the government gains power to set out what reasonable steps are. |
For professionals, the practical effect is that NHS and independent employers have strong legal reasons to investigate complaints formally, record outcomes and refer concerns to regulators rather than resolve them quietly. NHS England's sexual safety charter, launched in September 2023, committed signatory organisations to a zero-tolerance approach to unwanted, inappropriate or harmful sexual behaviour in the workplace.
What regulators expect of you
Explicit standards since January 2024
Good medical practice paragraph 57 prohibits sexual behaviour towards colleagues that offends, embarrasses, humiliates or distresses them, whether or not that was the aim, and makes clear it covers comments, written messages, shared images and unwelcome touching. The GMC's boundaries guidance adds that risk is higher where there are large differences in seniority or power.
One incident can be enough
NMC guidance FTP-3 says sexual misconduct is likely to be serious enough to impair fitness to practise and that it may need to act when there has been just one reported incident. FTP-3a places sexual harassment, whether at work or outside it, in the group of concerns the NMC regards as harder to remedy.
Duties of bystanders and leaders
The 2024 standards do not only address the person accused. Good medical practice paragraph 58 says doctors who witness sexual or other harassment should act, by supporting the person targeted, challenging the person responsible, or reporting it, ideally with the agreement of the person targeted. Paragraph 59 says those with a formal leadership or management role must act: make sure the behaviour is adequately addressed, people are supported, and concerns are dealt with promptly and escalated where necessary.
A GMC paper published by the Professional Standards Authority in March 2025 put the reason simply: not all sexual harassment escalates, but nearly all escalated sexual misconduct has antecedents. Leaders who ignore lower-level behaviour can find their own conduct questioned.
How common sexual harassment is in the NHS
| Survey | Finding |
|---|---|
| NHS Staff Survey 2025 | 3.51% of staff said they had been the target of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature from colleagues in the previous 12 months, down slightly from 3.67% in 2024. |
| GMC National Training Survey 2025 | 9% of female doctors in training reported unwelcome sexual comments or advances, rising to 17% among female foundation year 1 doctors. |
| GMC National Training Survey 2026, England | 128 trainees reported experiencing unwelcome sexual conduct on a daily or weekly basis. |
Across a workforce the size of the NHS, even 3.5% represents many thousands of people, which is why regulators and employers now treat this as a patient safety and workforce issue, not a private matter.
How recent cases have turned out
General Medical Council v Shah [2025] EWHC 899 (Admin)
What happened. A consultant thoracic surgeon made derogatory remarks to a secretary and touched a junior recovery nurse in an unwanted, sexually motivated way on two occasions years apart. The tribunal found sexual harassment and imposed a 12-month suspension, deciding his conduct fell short of being fundamentally incompatible with registration.
The outcome. The GMC appealed, seeking erasure. The High Court dismissed the appeal, saying sexual harassment "is not a trump card leading to an automatic finding of serious misconduct, still less automatic erasure".
The lesson: sanctions still depend on the facts. Seriousness, frequency and insight shape the outcome.
Professional Standards Authority v NMC and Shah [2025] EWHC 1215 (Admin)
What happened. An agency nurse at a nursing home made unwanted sexual advances to two junior female colleagues on night shifts over several months in 2020. An NMC panel imposed a 12-month suspension, having said such conduct "creates an unhealthy, unfair and unsafe work environment".
The outcome. The Professional Standards Authority appealed. The High Court quashed the sanction and sent it back to a fresh panel, noting there was "no evidence before the Panel to suggest that meaningful insight or remediation was likely to develop".
The lesson: where insight is absent, a suspension may be found insufficient, and the PSA can challenge lenient outcomes.
A further case involving a consultant surgeon and five junior colleagues went to the Court of Appeal in 2026, which upheld a 12-month suspension with review. It is covered in our fitness to practise case studies.
Related courseChaperoning and sexual boundaries→Interim orders while the case is investigated
Because sexual misconduct can raise questions of risk to colleagues and students, regulators may seek an interim order early in the investigation. Interim conditions, such as supervision requirements, are one option; for more serious allegations, interim suspension is possible. How those hearings work is explained in our guide to the interim orders tribunal.
If an allegation is made against you
- 1
Do not contact the colleague
Not to explain, apologise or discuss it. Contact can be seen as pressure and may breach employer instructions.
- 2
Get specialist advice
From your defence organisation, union or a regulatory lawyer before giving any account. Our guide to representation at hearings explains your options.
- 3
Preserve evidence
Messages, rotas and witness details. Do not delete anything, even if you think it is unhelpful.
- 4
Think about perception
Even if you dispute intent, consider how your words or actions could reasonably have been experienced, given seniority and setting.
- 5
Start remediation early
Targeted learning on boundaries, power and workplace culture, and a reflection that addresses the impact on others, not only on you.
- 6
Comply with any restrictions
Breaching interim conditions or employer instructions is treated very seriously.
Panels look for insight that goes beyond regret. Our guide to insight in fitness to practise explains the difference.
Related courseInsight: power, perception and impact on colleagues→Frequently asked questions
Can a single comment to a colleague lead to an NMC case?
Yes. NMC guidance says that for sexual misconduct it may need to act when there has been just one reported incident, though the seriousness of the comment and context matter.
What if I did not mean it in a sexual way?
Intention is not the whole test. The Equality Act asks about the purpose or effect of the conduct, considering the other person's perception and whether it was reasonable for it to have that effect.
Do messages and social media count?
Yes. GMC standards include verbal or written comments and sharing images, and messages are often the main evidence in these cases.
What is changing for employers on 30 October 2026?
The duty to prevent sexual harassment becomes a duty to take all reasonable steps, and employers must not permit harassment of their staff by third parties such as patients or visitors.
Will I be struck off for sexual harassment of a colleague?
Not necessarily. Recent cases have often resulted in suspension, but erasure or striking off is possible for serious or repeated conduct, especially with little insight.
Can the PSA challenge a lenient outcome?
Yes. In 2025 the High Court allowed a PSA appeal against an NMC suspension for sexual advances to colleagues and sent the sanction back to a fresh panel.
I witnessed harassment. Do I have to report it?
For doctors, Good medical practice says you should act, for example by supporting the person, challenging the behaviour or reporting it, ideally with the agreement of the person targeted. Leaders must act.
Is the seniority of the people involved relevant?
Yes. GMC boundaries guidance notes risk is higher with large differences in seniority or power, and abuse of a senior position is treated as aggravating.
Will I be suspended while the case is investigated?
Possibly. Regulators may seek interim conditions or, for serious allegations, interim suspension while they investigate.
What if the police are not involved?
Regulators do not need a criminal case. They decide facts on the balance of probabilities and can act on workplace evidence alone.
How common is sexual harassment in the NHS?
In the 2025 NHS Staff Survey, 3.51% of staff said they had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour from colleagues in the previous year.
What remediation helps in these cases?
Targeted learning on boundaries and power, a reflection focused on the colleague's experience, honest testimonials from people who know the allegations, and evidence of changed behaviour over time.
Primary sources
16 official documents and judgments
- Equality Act 2010, section 26
- Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, section 1
- Employment Rights Act 2025, section 20
- Employment Rights Act 2025, section 21
- Acas: Sexual harassment, changes to the law
- GMC: Good medical practice 2024, domain 3
- GMC: Maintaining personal and professional boundaries
- GMC: Work to tackle sexual misconduct in healthcare (March 2025)
- NMC: How we determine seriousness (FTP-3)
- NMC: Serious concerns which are more difficult to put right (FTP-3a)
- NHS England: Launch of the NHS sexual safety charter
- NHS Staff Survey 2025: National results briefing
- GMC: National Training Survey 2025 results
- GMC v Shah [2025] EWHC 899 (Admin)
- Altemimi v GMC [2024] EWHC 1731 (Admin)
- PSA v NMC and Shah [2025] EWHC 1215 (Admin)
