Following the many stories we hear, there are very few women who have not at some time in their career experienced some sort of sexual harassment and, of course, this does not only apply to women; anybody can be sexually harassed. Statistics indicate that 60% of women say that they have experienced harassment at work and there are differences according to age category. So, this particular topic can cover any group of individuals falling into any particular protected characteristic under the Equality Act of 2010. Most employers seem to be unprepared for this new duty which is absolutely mandatory.
Employers, with effect from 26th October, must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. There is not much time now to prepare and we have done the preparation on behalf of our clients. We are ready with outline policies and procedures, which we can make bespoke to you, along with a ready-made training workshop.
Unlike many pieces of employment legislation which become reactive in the light of events which happen, this particular legislation requires employers to take active preventative action and if not, you will be exposed immediately to risk. If you have already started taking action, it is very important you have taken the appropriate action.
The actual legislation is called the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 and is set to come into force on 26th October. There is a positive legal obligation to protect workers from sexual harassment. Additionally, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is updating their technical guidance on this new duty. The duty has to be anticipated.
• Employers cannot wait until there is an incident of sexual harassment before they take action.
• Preventing sexual harassment is a key element of the new duty.
• In due course, the legislation will extend to the employer being required to take steps to protect workers from being harassed by third parties.
• It is important to note that the EHRC has the power to bring action against an employer if the employer does not carry out its preventative duty.
• Additionally, an employee can bring a complaint of constructive unfair dismissal or possibly personal injury as a result of harassment.
• This preventative duty applies only to sexual harassment and the duty does not cover harassment related to a protected characteristic.
• Employers may prevent sexual harassment in different ways, but no one is exempt from the sexual harassment preventative duty.
• In tribunal findings, a tribunal will consider if, and to what extent, an employer has complied with a preventative duty.
• Minimum actions could include an audit to gather information about previous incidents and to see if there is any further concern from workforce turnover and exit interviews.
• Anonymous staff surveys can be useful to gain a better picture of what is going on.
• A risk assessment is a clear and reasonable step to help an employer identify what needs to be done to reduce risk.
• Policy documents need to be rewritten so that staff expectations are clear.
• The organisation’s policy on sexual harassment needs to be communicated in the appropriate ways and places.
• Training needs to take place of a suitable quality and to keep the topic alive including records of attendance on such training and its content.
• Someone needs to be accountable within an organisation for monitoring, evaluating and reporting on measures to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Employees need to be encouraged to report such matters.
In summary, we need to walk the talk. If you would like help with any of the above, including running effective, engaging training, please get in touch.
