This year’s work Christmas party could be a sobering event for many organisations due to the new positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment which came into effect recently, writes Felicity Staff, Senior Legal Adviser at Make UK.
While the annual party is a great opportunity to say thank you to staff and boost morale, organisations need to be aware of the recent changes to the law when planning festivities.
With the likelihood that alcohol may be flowing and inhibitions loosened, leaders need to plan ahead for higher risk events during the festive season. Here are some tips on preventative measures you should be taking and how Make UK can support you.
New rules
The Worker Protection Act 2023 came into force at the end of October. It strengthened existing rules by putting a new legal duty on employers to proactively protect their staff from sexual harassment at work.
Although individuals can’t bring a standalone claim in relation to breach of the new preventative duty on employers, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has broad enforcement powers and employment tribunals have the power to increase the compensation awarded in sexual harassment cases by up to 25% if the duty is not complied with.
The EHRC has produced technical guidance on this complex issue, and there are certain key points employers should keep in mind when planning social events over the coming weeks.
Assess the risks and take preventative action
Carrying out a risk assessment is a key step to towards ensuring compliance with the new anticipatory duty to prevent sexual harassment. The new duty requires employers to protect workers “in the course of employment”, which is broad, and means social events like the annual staff party fall in scope. You may have already considered the risks associated with social events as part of a broader risk assessment but, if not, you should do that now.
Having identified where the key risks lie, you will need to take pre-emptive action to minimise the chances of those risks arising. For example, perhaps you could limit alcohol or adapt the nature or timing of your event to make alcohol less of a focus. Similarly, you should be alive to the risk of your staff coming into contact with third parties (such as clients, contractors and suppliers) and the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring in those circumstances. At social events, it can be helpful to nominate specific managers to take responsibility to step in early if necessary, to ensure that matters don’t get out of hand. These are just some measures you should be thinking about to help protect your staff.
Remember that the preventative duty on employers is an ongoing obligation, so you should carefully document your assessment of the risks and keep this under regular review.
Update your policies and walk the talk
Creating an inclusive culture is also vital. It is important to make clear to workers that you take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of harassment and send a clear message that you will ensure any allegations are dealt with properly. Staff need to feel able to raise concerns and have confidence that that allegations will be handled fairly – regardless of the seniority of those involved.
With this in mind, your HR policies should clearly spell out what you expect from employees (for example, your equal opportunities, anti-harassment and bullying policies). Leaders and HR need to communicate the policies effectively to staff, and ensure they are consistently implemented. Policies are of little use if they are just kept in a drawer gathering dust, so keep them under regular review.
Invest in training
All staff should receive awareness training, including around what constitutes sexual harassment, and how employees should report any inappropriate behaviour they might experience or witness.
Managers need extra training on how to recognise when someone may be experiencing harassment, plus how to investigate allegations and support those involved. They also need training on how to take disciplinary action when needed.
Remember you should refresh your training regularly, so establish a clear timetable for doing this to ensure the information you provide to your staff doesn’t go stale.
How Make UK can help
Make UK is here to support you with any guidance you may need during the festive season. As your trusted partner, we can support your proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of your workers, from compliance into culture. Our offering includes a suite of training covering all levels – from front line to director – and can be delivered virtually or face-to-face.
We offer HR and management workshops and visioning sessions, for planning and ongoing review and monitoring of the steps taken. In addition, we can provide template documentation, including an anti-bullying and harassment policy (including management guidance notes), an equality policy, workplace risk assessments (which we can offer in conjunction with our health and safety team), an HR action plan and workforce surveys (including Pulse surveys and focus groups), alongside our full suite of ED&I training and consultancy to support your general duties under the Equality Act 2010. For further details, see Sexual Harassment.
To book a place on one of our half-day training courses on sexual harassment aimed at HR professionals, click here.
