Workplace wellbeing, bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct: SRA standards, legal duties and practical steps for law firms (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

Unacceptable behaviour in the workplace

Bullying, harassment and discrimination harm employees, damage firms and, by consequence, affect clients. While previously, such conduct, though never acceptable, may have been more commonplace in some areas of the profession, the landscape has shifted. Legal safeguards are stronger, and there is far wider appreciation of the need both to tackle poor conduct when it appears and to foster cultures that prevent it arising. In 2022, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) issued findings from a thematic review of workplace culture, alongside related guidance for firms and solicitors on work environments and managing the risks of failing to protect and support colleagues. It later released further guidance on sexual misconduct, which it may treat as a regulatory concern even if it happens privately outside the office. The SRA has also amended its Codes of Conduct to set out its expectations plainly. Research commissioned by the Law Society has likewise underlined how common—and risky—external abuse and threats to solicitors can be. Firms have a crucial part to play in safeguarding...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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