From 26 October 2024 all employers will be required to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (the new Act) comes into force on 26 October 2024, and introduces a new duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment. The new Act now imposes a mandatory legal duty on employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment of employees while they are at work by taking reasonable preventative actions. Should an employee win a sexual harassment claim at an employment tribunal and the employer is found to have neglected their duty to take reasonable preventative steps, the tribunal may increase the compensation awarded by up to 25%. Given that there is no upper limit on the compensation for discriminatory harassment, this increase could be substantial.
What should employers be doing now?
To help simplify things, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published an 8-step guide for employers. This says that employers should:
1. Develop an effective anti-harassment policy.
2. Engage staff.
3. Make an an assessment of the risks relating to harassment, sexual harassment and victimisation.
4. Set up reporting procedures.
5. Roll out training.
6. Deal with complaints.
7. Address harassment by third parties.*
8. Monitor and evaluate actions
*Notably, this duty extends to preventing sexual harassment of employees by third parties, eg. customers, suppliers and intermediaries. It is therefore important to consider a broad range of scenarios which could pose a particular risk.
When it comes to preparing the risk assessment, the guidance recommends that the following factors are considered:
Power imbalances.
Job insecurity - eg. zero hour contracts, agency staff or contractors.
Lone working.
Out of hours working
The presence of alcohol.
Customer-facing duties.
Travel to different work locations.
Lack of diversity in the workforce.
Attendance at events outside the usual work environment - eg. training, conferences, work-related social events.
Socialising outside of work.
Social media contact between workers.
Workforce demographic.
If you need support putting the requirements in place, including preparing the risk assessments please get in touch.
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