New duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace
2 October 2024
On 26 October 2024, The Worker Protection Act 2023 (Amendment of the Equality Act 2010) will come into force aimed at tackling workplace sexual harassment.
This will place a mandatory duty on employers to proactively establish preventative and reasonable steps against sexual harassment in the workplace.
Employers can no longer afford to take a reactive stance on harassment issues. The emphasis of this law is not only on responding to complaints but ensuring that systems are in place to prevent harassment before it happens. The preventative duty does extend to requiring employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of workers by third parties, such as clients and customers.
Employers should implement & monitor measures such as:
- Anti-harassment training
- Clear reporting mechanisms
- Risk assessment & policies that foster a safe and respectful work environment.
Failure to comply with this duty may lead to increased compensation penalties in sexual harassment claims, as employment tribunals can uplift any compensation by up to 25%.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) also have a wide range of enforcement powers they will be able to use against employers such as external investigation, requiring employers to provide evidence and potentially issuing unlawful act notices.
These are both in addition to the potential of reputational damage for employers.
To help employers understand the new duty and how to comply the EHRC have issued updated technical guidance on Sexual harassment and harassment at work.
EVH will be running a member only training session on Friday 25 October 2024 to discuss and understand how to comply with the new legislation, understand what procedures to put in place to reduce the risk of harassment happening, and have a practical take away on how to handle a situation should it arise.