Sexual harassment in the workplace is seemingly a “hot topic”, with allegations of large scale harassment made against public sector employers such as the NHS and the Metropolitan Police, and this past month historic claims surfacing against former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
Public cases are however only the tip of the iceberg, with workers often choosing not to report sexual harassment or even assault for fear of losing their job or being passed over for promotion.
Employers’ New Obligations
From 26 October 2024, the long-awaited Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 comes into force, strengthening worker protection and placing a new positive duty on employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment at work.
Historically, employers have only tended to consider sexual harassment allegations after receiving a complaint. The new positive duty means that demonstrable steps will now need to be taken by employers to protect against harassment happening in the first place including protecting workers from harassment by third parties (such as clients, customers or the public).
Employers who cannot demonstrate “reasonable steps” taken to prevent sexual harassment may face an increase in Employment Tribunal (ET) compensation for a successful claim by up to 25%.
In addition, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will now be able to investigate allegations of sexual harassment and have powers to take direct action against employers: issuing unlawful act notices, action plans to remedy breaches, and imposing unlimited fines for non-compliance.
The ECHR has set out the new duties and compliance guidance: Sexual Harassment and Harassment Work Technical Guidance and whilst itself not legally binding, the guidance is indicative of what “reasonable steps” may be expected of employers (and considered by the ET).
How can I make sure my business is ready for these changes?
Our Head of Employment, Jane Smith, explains the steps you can take:
- Carry out a risk assessment: assess the risks of sexual harassment being prevalent or possible within your business; identify risk areas and consider steps that can be taken to reduce those risks and prevent harassment of workers;
- Review current policies: ensure existing policies are updated for the new changes, including protection from possible sexual harassment by third parties;
- Arrange comprehensive training for all staff: ideally, comprehensive, tailored training, specific to your workplace, not merely “tick box” measures;
- Document everything and diarise reviews: make sure that all risk assessments are documented including what measures will (and will not) be taken (and why), and diarise regular reviews and what has been updated/changed/newly implemented; and
- Look at any previous allegations of sexual harassment: whether workers have previously raised a formal complaint or not, if you are aware of historical allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace, consider these in the context of your risk assessment.
If you want to learn more about how you can prepare for the forthcoming changes, contact our employment law expert [email protected]