Is the customer always right? Harassment from outside the organisation

An employee tells her manager that an important customer has been making personal comments and touching her in a way she didn't want. The customer spends a lot with the business. What happens next says more about a workplace's culture than any policy does.

This piece from Make a Difference Media walks through three ways the same situation can go, from quietly moving the employee off the account, which teaches everyone that speaking up isn't safe, to a proper response that protects the person and the business.

There's a legal reason to read it too. From 30 October 2026, employers will have a new duty to protect staff from harassment by customers, clients, patients and other third parties, and the existing duty to prevent sexual harassment goes up to "all reasonable steps".

Whatever your role, it's worth knowing that harassment from outside the organisation counts, and that how the first conversation is handled matters most.

Is the customer always right? Responding to third-party harassment at work - make a difference - workplace culture, employee health, wellbeingThird-party harassment at work is becoming a bigger legal and cultural issue. What employers need to know about the new duty from October 2026.makeadifference.media

Managers who want to be the person a colleague can come to with something like this may find our Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health (Level 1) course useful:

Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health (SCQF Level 4 / RQF Level 1) | MHScotBuild confidence to talk about mental health at work with MHScot’s regulated Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health course. Accredited at SCQF Level 4 in Scotland and RQF Level 1 across the UK, this short course introduces key skills for creating a supportive workplace culture.www.mentalhealthscot.land