Stronger Rules to Protect Against Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

On 26 October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 comes into effect and this will strengthen existing protection for workers against sexual harassment. Under the legislation, tribunals will have the power to increase employee compensation by up to 25% if they find an employer has breached this duty.

Sexual harassment at work is already unlawful, but there is currently no legal obligation for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. This will change under the new legislation in October when employers come under a mandatory duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment of employees in the course of their employment. In particular, employers should be mindful that the point about harassment occurring ‘in the course of [a worker’s] employment’ applies not just to the workplace but also to work-related events like conferences, parties and leaving drinks. Also, although the requirement to make employers liable for third party harassment has been dropped from the final legislation, the new duties still require employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by any perpetrator, including clients, suppliers and members of the public.

The new duty only applies to sexual harassment, not harassment based on other protected characteristics like race, disability or age.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can also enforce this new duty to prevent sexual harassment by, for example, conducting its own investigations in companies in response to claims. Ahead of the October changes, the EHRC has updated its guidance to employers about their duties and responsibilities under the new legislation and reasonable steps that can be taken to prevent sexual harassment. The guidance can be found here.

In terms of reasonable steps for employers to take to prevent sexual harassment, the over-arching aim is for employers to create a safe, inclusive, respectful work environment for all workers but, specifically, steps should include:

• Clear, well-publicised anti-harassment policies that are consistently enforced 
• Targeted risk assessments to highlight risk factors and decide on actions to be taken to minimise risk
• Regular training sessions for all staff (especially line managers and Human Resources specialists) so that they understand what sexual harassment is and their role in preventing and addressing it
• A culture of open communication in the workplace
• Clear, well-publicised reporting channels for complaints and concerns
• Monitoring and review of policies and staff satisfaction surveys.

The Harassment and Bullying Policy has been updated and a new specific Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy is now available.  New Sexual Harassment Risk Assessment template documents will be available soon.