New rules mean employers are liable for harassment committed by third parties, and confidentiality clauses that prevent workers from speaking out are being prohibited

This is the second article in our series analysing the potential impact of the new Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025 on games businesses operating within the UK.

In the first article, we explored how ERA 2025 bolsters trade union powers and what that could mean for the industry, particularly given recent pushes for unionisation. This time, we turn to another area where employers are facing a significant increase in their legal obligations: harassment.

The games industry (like many industries) has spent much of the past decade confronting difficult conversations around workplace culture, bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment. Many studios have worked hard to improve their cultures and create safer, more inclusive workplaces. With the incoming ERA 2025 changes, legislators have clearly concluded that employers need to do even more.

On the face of it, the changes we discuss in this article might not seem that significant. However, in practice, they could result in the most substantial overhaul of anti-harassment best practice considerations since the Equality Act 2010.

For an industry built on collaboration – between developers, publishers, platform holders, partners and, ultimately, millions of players around the world – these changes present some unique challenges. How do you protect employees from harassment by someone who doesn't even work for your studio? And how far does an employer's responsibility extend when so much of modern game development happens across numerous organisations, jurisdictions, and online communities?

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