Britain’s equality watchdog has launched a consultation on planned updates to guidance around preventing sexual harassment at work.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated technical guidance, which is expected to take effect ahead of the introduction of the Worker Protection Act on 26 October 2024, includes information on the new duty on employers to take reasonable steps to protect their workers from harassment, including sexual harassment.
Under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, the EHRC will also have the power to take enforcement action against organisations if they do not do enough to prevent sexual harassment, while employment tribunals will be able to increase compensation owed to victims of sexual harassment by up to 25%.
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The amended guidance states: “Employers should not wait until an incident of sexual harassment has taken place before they take any action. The duty requires that employers should anticipate scenarios when its workers may be subject to sexual harassment in the course of employment and take action to prevent such harassment taking place. If sexual harassment has taken place, the preventative duty means an employer should take action to stop sexual harassment from happening again.”
It gives examples of what the EHRC considers to be reasonable steps for preventing sexual harassment, including updating policies and procedures to outline expected behaviours, training managers in dealing with complaints and a timetable of refresher training for managers and staff.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the EHRC, said: “Sexual harassment in the workplace is unacceptable and every employer – no matter how big or small – is responsible for protecting its staff. As the equality regulator, it is our job to promote and uphold Britain’s equality laws. We have launched this consultation to ensure employers understand their legal obligations.
“We are seeking views on the clarity of our guidance, so that workplaces understand the practical steps they will need to take to comply with the new preventative duty.
“Every employer needs to understand how to comply with the law and keep staff safe at work.”
The consultation runs until 6 August 2024. The EHRC’s current technical guidance on preventing sexual harassment and harassment at work remains in place.
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