NEW SEXUAL HARASSMENT LEGISLATION

As of October 2024, there is a new duty under the Worker Protection Act 2023 (Amendment of the Equality Act 2010) that requires employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

It is important to note that the new duty is in addition to the existing protections under the Equality Act 2010, which protects workers from discrimination, harassment, and victimisation.

Employers now have a duty to anticipate when sexual harassment may occur and take reasonable steps to prevent it. Furthermore, if sexual harassment has taken place, an employer should take action to stop it from happening again.

The previous legislation did not apply to harassment of staff by third parties (e.g. clients), but the new preventative duty does. Accordingly, employers are now required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties. Note, however, that an individual cannot bring a standalone claim specifically for third-party harassment.

To support our members in complying with these new obligations, we have created a members’ guide for Anti-Sexual Harassment Practices. This guide includes:

• a definition sexual harassment (including examples)
• details of the legislation update that came into effect in Oct 2024
• example scenarios and solutions tailored to our industry (including considerations for smaller companies with limited budgets)
• 7 reasonable steps you can take to prevent sexual harassment
• how to mitigate risks
• monitoring and reviewing your practices

We have also updated the Anti-Sexual Harassment section (p16) in our template Code of Conduct and Complaints Process.

If you have any queries, please email [email protected].