You may have heard that laws protecting workers from sexual harassment are being strengthened this month, and that is correct. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act came into force on 1st October.
This means that employers have a heightened duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The rules are tougher, but not as tough as originally intended.
Now, you need to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, and if a tribunal judge finds that you have breached this duty they can uplift any compensation they award by an additional 25%. At one stage, the wording was that you would need to take “all reasonable steps” and the duty was to specifically include sexual harassment from third parties (like customers). These two aspects were watered down in the final legislation though.
What do you need to do now?
The Equality Act 2010 and earlier legislation already places obligations on you to guard against sexual harassment, but this new law will mean your approach needs to become far more systematic. Not least, this means documenting the steps that you take for your own protection should an employee ever raise a complaint.
Here are the top areas we would advise looking at to ensure your business aligns with the new law:
Review your policies – Policies give you the framework to manage wrongdoing, but also are a formal place to outline expectations and clearly inform staff of the rules. Is sexual harassment currently mentioned at all? It needs to be. Define it (harassment is unwanted behaviour whether intended or not) and outline the steps that will be taken when it occurs.
Given the focus of this legislation some businesses may choose to have a separate sexual harassment procedure. As with all policies, every employee should receive it, preferably via a company handbook.
Check your reporting channels – Do victims know who to go to if they feel harassed. Check you have the right reporting channels in place and that everyone knows what to do.
Reflect on your company culture – Company culture may have a major bearing on how exposed you are to this new law. Do you have the balance right between fun, “banter” and harassment. Cultural tone is generally set from the top so make sure that you and your managers lead by example.
Staff training – Reinforce your policies with staff training to ensure every employee understands what sexual harassment is and how they can avoid and address it. While specific liability against third party harassment did not make the final legislation, equipping staff to challenge this behaviour and feel supported by you will improve your working environment and should reduce your overall risk.
Further support
At The HR Dept, we are here to help you get this right if you need support. From ensuring your policies and company handbook are up-to-date, to helping get the disciplinary process correct. Just let your local office know what you need, and we will help.
