New Protections From Sexual Harassment Come Into Force

26th October 2024

Employers now have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and create a safe working environment.

New duty under the Equality Act 2010 will require employers to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

New guidance for employers on how they can protect their staff.
New measure comes into force as further legislation goes through Parliament to boost economic growth by tackling poor productivity, insecure work and broken industrial relations.
From today (26 October 204), employees can expect their employers to take reasonable steps to protect them from sexual harassment as a new duty comes into force.

Employers now have a duty to anticipate when sexual harassment may occur and take reasonable steps to prevent it. If sexual harassment has taken place, an employer should take action to stop it from happening again. This sends a clear signal to all employers that they must take reasonable preventative steps against sexual harassment, encourage cultural change where necessary, and reduce the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring.

Anneliese Dodds, Minister for Women and Equalities, said, "This government is determined to ensure that we not only Make Work Pay; we also make work safe. Too many people feel uncomfortable or unsafe at work due to sexual harassment and we are putting every effort into putting a stop to it. The preventative duty is an important step on the journey, and we will continue to improve protections for workers until everyone can thrive.

The Equality Act provides legal protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. Despite this, persistent reports and revelations in recent years indicate that it remains a problem. So from today employers will be required to take ‘reasonable steps' to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. We will strengthen this duty through our Employment Rights Bill, which had its Second Reading this week, and will boost economic growth by tackling poor productivity, insecure work and broken industrial relations.

Guidance for employers on developing appropriate plans and policies has been published by the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This includes what behaviour needs to be addressed and how complaints should be handled, to help employers protect their staff and avoid tribunals.

An individual cannot bring a claim against their employer for the preventative duty. An individual must first bring a claim against their employer for sexual harassment. If the claimant is successful, a breach of the employment duty will automatically be examined.
If an employment tribunal has found an employer liable for sexual harassment, it can also consider whether the employer has failed in its duty to prevent it, and if so, the tribunal can order an uplift in compensation paid to the employee. A breach of the duty may lead to an uplift in compensation by up to 25%. The amount awarded should reflect the gravity of the breach. A breach of the duty is also enforceable by the Equality and Human Rights Commission under its existing enforcement powers.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance on sexual harassment for employers has been updated to reflect the new legal requirements under the WPA: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/sexual-harassment-and-harassment-work-technical-guidance
The Acas guide for employers to creating a sexual harassment policy is here: https://www.acas.org.uk/sexual-harassment.