Harassment in the Workplace - helping Employers navigate the new legislation
Posted on 24th September 2024 at 11:30
Major changes are coming in October with expectations on every employer regarding harassment protection for employees. Every business should take action now to get compliant, regardless of the size of your business.
Existing Legislation on Harassment in the UK
Harassment legislation has been the same for a number of years and is primarily governed by the Equality Act 2010. This legislation provides protection against various forms of harassment, ensuring a safe and respectful working environment for all employees.
Reminder – definition of harassment
It is defined as ‘unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment’ Protected characteristics - age, disability gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
What’s changing
None of the above is changing, however the UK Government is introducing new legislation aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. This legislation is known as the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 and will come into effect on 26th October 2024.
The new legislation makes it a mandatory duty for employers to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment. This is a change from previously encouraged preventative measures to a requirement to have taken reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring.
The penalties for not doing this as an employer could be significant – if an employee wins a sexual harassment claim and the employer is found to have neglected their duty to take reasonable prevention steps, the compensation awarded may be increased by up to 25%. And there is no upper limit on compensation for discriminatory harassment so these awards could be significant. On top of tribunal powers, the Equality and Human Rights Commission will be given powers to inspect and take enforcement action on any employer found not to be taking their mandatory duty seriously.
What should employers do now?
Considering all of this, what should all employers be doing to take ‘reasonable steps’ to proactively prevent sexual harassment in their workplace?
For SMEs, we are recommending the following actions:
Policies. A review of key policies including your Harassment Policy, Equal Opportunities Policy, Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures. Some small businesses don’t currently have a Harassment Policy in place, and we recommend that you put one in place asap.
Training – Employees. We recommend that all employees should attend mandatory training sessions to ensure everyone understands what the business expectations are for everyone’s conduct and particularly recognising, preventing, and reporting sexual harassment.
Training – Managers. Mandatory training so they understand expectations of them as leaders in the organisation, as well as spotting issues and understanding next steps if a complaint is raised.
Leadership commitment. Role modelling expected behaviours and as a business consciously regularly reviewing your workplace environment, culture, and practices to identify and address potential risks of harassment, including from 3rd parties (clients, suppliers).
This might all feel a bit overwhelming and a lot to do, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! For existing retained clients, we will support you with the above over the next month.
If you aren’t a retained client, Ashfield HR are offering a one-off package to support you with all of the above including essential policy templates and training packages. You can find more details on this package here, or email info@ashfieldhr.co.uk
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