New duty to prevent sexual harassment

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into force today, 26 October, placing employers under a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the workplace.

What has changed?

Sexual harassment in the workplace was, of course, already prohibited under the Equality Act 2010 and it was a defence for an employer to show that they took “all reasonable steps” to prevent the harassment from occurring, which was a high bar to satisfy!

This remains the case – but the law now goes one step further and imposes a mandatory legal duty on employers to be proactive and to prevent sexual harassment by taking reasonable precautionary action. This means that HR leaders and decision-makers will now be accountable for actively reducing harassment risks.

Why is this important?

This is a proactive and anticipatory duty. Whilst a failure to meet this new duty cannot be a ‘claim’ on its own, the allegation that the duty has been breached will be considered if a claim for sexual harassment is upheld by the Tribunal.

If this is the case, the Tribunal have the power to uplift the eventual award by 25% – and given that there is no upper limit on the compensation for discriminatory harassment, this increase could be substantial! What’s more, the Equality and Human Rights Commission also have powers to investigate, impose fines and order remedial actions.

What do employers need to do? 

Whilst many employers will already make clear in a policy that sexual harassment will not be tolerated, this is not the same as complying with the new duty.

Employers will need to risk assess and anticipate where harassment could occur, implement measures to prevent sexual harassment, take action after sexual harassment occurs and take steps to prevent any further sexual harassment.  Employers need to consider the risks of sexual harassment presented by co-workers as well as third-parties who enter the workplace.

How do we know what preventative steps to take?

To help you understand what preventative steps will best protect your organisation, Torque Law are running an online Prevention of Harassment Seminar on 27 November 2024.  Book now

This comprehensive seminar will be a 2.5 hour online session, carefully designed to empower HR leaders and Managers with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively meet the new duty requirements.

We will cover:

• Workplace behaviour boundaries and the special status of sexual harassment.
• The new, ongoing, duty to prevent sexual harassment of applicants, workers, employees and former employees.
• How to identify key risks for your organisation.
• Top tips for compliance and the ‘reasonable steps’ your organisation should be taking to comply.
• Case studies demonstrating the practical application of reasonable steps, both successful and unsuccessful.
• Practical tips on handling complaints in a way that protects your organisation and supports affected individuals.
• The reasonable steps defence “get out of jail card”, and how to increase your chances of being successful with this defence.

The cost of this session is £120 + VAT and includes:

• Template Risk Assessment to help you identify risks.
• Key take aways handout summarising the key insights.
• Guidance notes setting out practical examples of reasonable steps in common workplace scenarios.
• Checklist of suggested practical actions businesses can take.
• The opportunity to purchase a template policy, in-house training and / or a harassment training toolkit to protect your organisation at an exclusive discounted rate.

Book your place now via Eventbrite or by contacting our events team on  01904 437 680