The Duty of Protection Against Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: A New Statutory Obligation for Employers

From 26 October 2024, the Worker Protection Bill, an amendment to the Equality Act 2010, will impose a new statutory obligation on employers to combat sexual harassment in the workplace, bringing them face-to-face with their responsibilities.

What is Sexual Harassment?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) defines sexual harassment as unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. For behaviour to qualify as sexual harassment, it must either violate someone's dignity or create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. This behaviour can take many forms, including sexual remarks about a person’s body, clothing, or appearance, sexually offensive jokes, or unwanted touching, which can escalate to sexual assault.

The measures provided by the Worker Protection Bill

Previously, employers could be held liable for breaching their duty of care toward employees. However, the Worker Protection Bill strengthens this legislation, which has been criticised as relatively weak, by creating a clear duty for employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment. This new bill emphasizes “prevention” over “remedy.”

The interpretation of “reasonable steps” is subjective, but the EHRC has outlined specific actions employers can take to mitigate the risk of sexual harassment in the workplace. These actions include:

- Developing and communicating a clear anti-harassment policy that defines sexual harassment and its various forms.

- Organising training sessions for all staff to prevent, recognize, and report sexual harassment.

- Establishing accessible reporting channels for complaints.

- Ensuring attention is given to gender diversity in the workplace to prevent discrimination.

Therefore, if employers fail to fulfil this preventive duty of care, the legislation allows tribunals to increase compensation by up to 25%.

For individuals seeking assistance, Bangor University Legal Advice Clinic (BULAC) offers free legal advice on issues related to employment law including discrimination or harassment at the workplace. To make an appointment, please call 01248 388411 or email us at bulac@bangor.ac.uk.