News

Prevention of sexual harassment obligations

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act received Royal Assent at the end of October and imposes a new obligation for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. It is due to come into force in October 2024.

This Act will amend and expand the provisions relating to sexual harassment currently contained in the Equality Act. This also means that Employment Tribunals will have a new power to uplift compensation by up to 25% if an employer is found to have breached their duty to the employee. Whether a breach has taken place will be considered by reference to a new statutory code that will be published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

It should be noted that original provisions relating to third party harassment protection have not been included in the Act as these were rejected by the House of Lords in July.

Employers should of course have existing policies in place with robust procedures, but it is good practice to review these and make it clear to workers and employees that new obligations will be in place and that there will be a zero tolerance approach. Training should be up-to-date.

Posted on 12/07/2023 by Ortolan

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