New Employer Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment at Work: Effective 26 October 2024
Guidance for employers on complying with the new duty.
From October 26th 2024, a new statutory duty comes into effect that places a positive obligation on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This duty is part of several steps taken in recent years to promote workplace equality and safety.
What does the new duty entail?
The duty to prevent sexual harassment at work means employers are now legally obligated to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment.
As noted in our article from March 2024 - How to get ready for the new duty to prevent sexual harassment of employees – there is a marked difference to this level of duty as against the duty to prevent ‘all reasonable steps’ which appears as a defence for employers in other discrimination law contexts.
Employment tribunals can now increase any compensation due by up to 25% where they find a breach of the preventative duty. This uplift can be applied to all compensation awarded for Equality Act claims, not just to the compensation awarded for sexual harassment. Whilst this will not, and should not, be the main incentive to take the new duty seriously, it does underline the importance of employers addressing it.
Practical Steps for Employers
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) updated its guidance on 26 September 2024 on sexual harassment in the workplace to reflect the new duty. This guidance provides a useful tool for employers to gauge their current position in regard to the new duty and what steps they can take to put them in the best position to meet the standard.
The EHRC guidance suggests 8 steps for employers to take, which are:
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Develop an effective anti-harassment policy: create or update policies to clearly define who is protected, what sexual harassment is, including third-party harassment, and specify clear reporting processes for those who experience sexual harassment.
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Engage your staff: use 1-to-1s, surveys, and exit interviews to gather feedback. Ensure staff are aware of your anti-sexual harassment policy, how to report harassment, and the consequences of breaches of the policy.
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Assess and reduce risk: conduct risk assessments to identify and mitigate risk factors, such as assessing where power imbalances arise in your organisation, whether there are any isolated working conditions and whether you have customer-facing roles that may be more exposed to harassment.
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Provide clear reporting channels: consider how to make reporting instances of sexual harassment more accessible to staff. This might include establishing multiple confidential options such as externally available anonymous hotlines or online systems for reporting harassment.
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Deliver training: regularly train all staff but particularly managers and senior staff on recognising and addressing harassment. This should include specific guidance for handling third-party harassment.
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Handle complaints promptly and protect the complainant: act immediately when complaints are made, ensuring confidentiality and preventing retaliation. Take account of how the worker wants it to be resolved, communicate the outcome of the complaint and outline any appeals to the complainant in a timely manner. Consider moving the alleged harasser to another team or site during investigations.
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Address third-party harassment: implement procedures to address harassment by customers or clients, ensuring workers know how to report incidents and what steps will be taken. Treat these incidents just as seriously as you would harassment by a colleague.
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Monitor and evaluate: regularly review the effectiveness of the steps taken, including analysing complaints data and conducting staff surveys to identify trends or areas needing improvement.
Next steps for employers
The duty to prevent sexual harassment at work places a significant responsibility on employers to proactively address and mitigate the risks of sexual harassment in the workplace. That said, there are clear and simple steps employers can take to demonstrate that they are taking the ‘reasonable steps’ necessary to prevent it.
Taking the time now to review and update policies and processes, conduct training, and create a zero-tolerance culture towards sexual harassment are fundamental steps that all employers should be taking now or looking to get started on as a priority.
*The Labour government introduced the Employment Rights Bill to Parliament on Thursday 10 October. The draft Bill proposes to extend the duty to ‘all reasonable steps’ which is likely to place a higher burden on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. We will keep readers updated on the progress of this issue.
| About Wrigleys
Our employment team have experience of helping employers large and small implement new policies and procedures designed to help them manage risk and navigate the increasingly complex areas of law that apply to employers, the workplace and their staff. If you are interested in any of the topics raised in this article, or would like to explore how Wrigleys might be able to help your organisation, please do feel free to contact us. We’d love to hear from you. |
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If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article further, please contact Michael Crowther / Haiqa Farooq, or any of the employment team on 0113 244 6100. You can also keep up to date by following Wrigleys Solicitors on LinkedIn. The information in this article is necessarily of a general nature. The law stated is correct at the date (stated above) this article was first posted to our website. Specific advice should be sought for specific situations. If you have any queries or need any legal advice please feel free to contact Wrigleys Solicitors. |
