PROTECTION FROM SEXUAL HARASSMENT: Duty to take reasonable steps
As employers should already be aware, as of 26 October 2024, employers must take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, including prevention of harassment by third parties which includes customers, suppliers and other members of the general public.
The new duty applies to all employers regardless of their size or sector and imposes a legal duty on employers to work proactively to address sexual harassment in the workplace. It aims to curate a workplace culture that is free from sexual harassment and victimisation, as opposed to being a mere tick box exercise for compliance with legislation. As such, updating workplace policies and procedures, simply will not be enough.
'“Helpfully, the EHRC has recognised that, the proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment is a learning experience for all employers.”
Failure to comply with this duty can result in serious enforcement action being taken against the employer by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) or a hefty uplift of 25% in compensation by an Employment Tribunal. It can also have a significant impact on the reputation of your business and the wellbeing and safety of your employees.
To help employers to take these ‘reasonable steps’ and to avoid any penalties, the EHRC has published new guidance for employers on the duty to prevent sexual harassment at work, containing a checklist, action plan and monitoring logs. These should be implemented and streamlined against existing policies in order to formulate an action plan to implement the proactive duty. Employers should always keep in mind whether their policies and procedures to prevent sexual harassment are workable in practice for their business and can be used to address complaints by and against both employees and third parties.
Checklist
Whilst the checklist was initially designed by the EHRC with the hospitality sector in mind, it can easily be tailored to suit other workplaces. It addresses three main areas an employer should think about day to day and during the course of an individual’s employment. These areas are:
Communicating with staff: how to promote a culture of zero tolerance and let your staff know you take sexual harassment seriously.
Changing the working environment: controlling the physical and social environment that people are working in to make it as safe as possible.
Working practices: policies and procedures to make sure you know when sexual harassment happens and how it is dealt with.
Action Plan
The EHRC encourages employers to record any actions from the checklist that they take as part of their working practices to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. These may include:
updating your sexual harassment policies and making staff aware of them
making sure staff are fully trained and aware of what to do if sexual harassment happens
recording who you need to speak to so that the checklist is used across your organisation
supporting staff to use the checklist at the correct time
Monitoring Logs
Not only this, the EHRC recommends monitoring the effectiveness of preventative measures implemented by employers through monitoring logs. These can help employers understand any barriers they have faced when implementing their duty; actions which are working well; what needs to be prioritised; and what needs to be changed.
Helpfully, the EHRC has recognised that, the proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment is a learning experience for all employers. It recognises that by taking on this responsibility, we can work towards an era where sexual harassment can confidently be reported and addressed in an accountable way in order to create safer and healthier workplaces.
If you would like further guidance on what measures you can implement in your workplace to prevent sexual harassment, please contact the team at Horsfield Menzies.