Preventing Sexual Harassment at Work: An Employer’s Duty
From 26 October 2024, employers will be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees while at work. The new legal duty is part of an update by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). In this blog, we’ll look at the implications for employers and some of the preventative steps they can take.
The Preventative Duty
Under the new EHRC guidance, employers will have a preventative duty towards sexual harassment in the workplace. It’s important to distinguish that this is harassment of a sexual nature, rather than simply discrimination or harassment based on a protected characteristic.
Employers must take steps to prevent sexual harassment of workers. Sexual harassment is defined in the guidance as “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of:
violating a worker’s dignity, or
creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that worker.”
This includes harassment by other workers, an agency acting on behalf of the employer or a third party.
Essentially, employers have a legal duty to do all they can to prevent sexual harassment from taking place and if it does, to stop it immediately. If employers fail in this, the courts can add a 25% increase to any tribunal awards.
What are the reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work?
Reasonable steps will look different for every employer and will depend on many factors including the company size, the nature of the work, the job sector, how effective previous action has been and many more variables.
There are some core steps that most businesses should take.
1. Risk assessment
Understanding what the current risks are within the business for sexual harassment is key. Remember that this is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature so there may be certain employees known for making risky jokes, or who display images that are not professional or situations - such as Christmas parties - where the risk is greater.
Doing a risk assessment of all areas of the business - plus any third parties who work with the business - will give you an overview of where you might be exposed. This will help you put in a strategy for taking reasonable steps.
At Danton, we can perform these risk assessments as part of our services. An external HR audit may give you different insights than if you conducted them in-house.
2. Update policies
Making your people aware of the changes in law and what’s expected of their behaviour in work is a key preventative step. Updating policies and handbooks not only sets out the right tone towards sexual harassment in the workplace but it also gives your people the confidence to come forward and report if they see something happening. This supports the business to put an immediate stop to any unwanted behaviours before they escalate.
3. Training
Training for your managers is a critical preventative step. Your line managers are the first stop for anyone experiencing sexual harassment and therefore responsible for putting the right actions in place. Equally, your managers are more likely to spot when and where the risks are likely to happen, this means they can put preventative measures in place.
Giving your managers the confidence to better manage behaviours and conduct at work, to have those difficult conversations, and to follow the correct disciplinary procedures is one of the best preventative measures you can put in place.
Danton offers one-off Managing Conduct and Discipline training for managers, Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and a comprehensive Managing People Fundamentals training programme which will help put those preventative steps in place in your business.
4. Regular check-ins with your people
Giving your employees a way to let you know when things are wrong through feedback forms, surveys or comments boxes can help raise issues that may not be significant enough to report to a line manager but may have future consequences.
Often, harassment of any kind can come through small, seemingly insignificant acts but they quickly add up to making someone feel threatened or out of place at work. Not all workplaces have an open culture but giving people a way to report - even anonymously - what they see happening, can help put preventative measures in place.
If you want a more open workplace where people feel they can speak up to their manager, download our free guide here.
Preventing sexual harassment at work
Ultimately, the actions set out in the new EHRC directive are actions that lead to a happier and more productive workplace. Running risk assessments, giving people the ability to speak up when something is wrong, evaluating and updating policies and, investing in the right training are all essential to keeping a business healthy.
For employers, these are actions that should be taken regularly to keep your people and the business safe.
To get expert support for your business, get in touch.