Are you ready for the October 2024 deadline?
A new legal duty is being imposed on UK employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment. The new duty is expected to come into force in October 2024 and originates from the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which aims to enhance protections against sexual harassment for employees. B P Collins’ employment team explores the steps employers need to take now to help prevent issues in the future.
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is a form of discrimination that involves unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
The unwanted conduct could be verbal or physical, so inappropriate comments, gestures, or jokes of a sexual nature; unwanted touching or advances; displaying sexually explicit materials; and requests for sexual favours are all potentially sexual harassment.
Treating someone unfavourably because they submit to or reject unwanted conduct of a sexual nature will also be harassment.
What changes are coming?
Be proactive: Employers will be required to proactively implement measures to prevent sexual harassment, rather than just reacting to incidents. The specific steps considered reasonable may vary depending on the size and resources of the employer and the nature of the workplace.
Tribunal powers: Employment tribunals will have the authority to increase compensation by up to 25% in cases where an employer is found to have failed in their duty to prevent sexual harassment. Compensation for sexual harassment can often run into tens of thousands of pounds before any uplift.
Role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC): The EHRC will be able to enforce the new legal duty, including investigating suspected harassment, entering into binding agreements with employers, and assisting individuals with legal proceedings.
What should employers do now?
There shouldn’t be any delay in delivering:
Updated policies: Review and update anti-harassment policies to ensure they are comprehensive and clearly communicated to all employees.
Training sessions: Provide regular and effective training for all employees and managers on recognising and preventing sexual harassment.
Updated reporting procedures: Establish clear and accessible methods for employees to report harassment, and ensuring these reports are handled promptly and effectively.
Risk assessments: Conduct regular risk assessments to identify potential areas of concern and implement targeted measures to address them​.
What does the legal duty not cover?
It’s important to note that the new legal duty for employers does not cover harassment based on other protected characteristics such as race, religion, or disability.
Additionally, originally proposed protections against third-party harassment, such as by customers or clients, were watered down in the final legislation. However, employers should not ignore potential third-party sexual harassment and should consider taking steps such as installing appropriate signage which is visible to customers and clients.
What next?
B P Collins LLP has a dedicated employment law team and runs the HR consultancy, HR2HELP, which can help employers navigate constantly evolving employment legislation. For detailed advice on the new duty, and what reasonable steps need to be taken to encourage a safe and respectful workplace, you can contact us on enquiries@bpcollins.co.uk or call 01753 889995.
