On 26 October 2024, a new legal duty was introduced requiring employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees during their employment. As part of the new legislation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have powers to enforce this duty. Additionally, while there is currently no standalone Employment Tribunal claim that can be brought for a failure to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, the Employment Tribunal can award an uplift of up to 25% to any compensation awarded, where the Tribunal finds this duty has not been complied with.
In advance of the introduction of the new duty, the EHRC provided technical guidance for employers on how to ensure compliance, and also introduced an 8-step guide for employers to follow on how to prevent sexual harassment at work. Recently in November 2024 the EHRC also introduced template checklists, monitoring logs and action plans that can be downloaded and adopted by employers in order to assist them in complying with the new duty, taking action to tackle sexual harassment and protect their employees.
Following the introduction of the new duty, employers must take proactive steps not only to ensure compliance, but also to avoid potential enforcement action from the EHRC and/or costly Employment Tribunal claims. As a minimum, employers should:
- Conduct risk assessments to identify any potential areas where sexual harassment might occur.
- Review and refresh any existing policies to ensure they are up to date.
- Provide thorough training to staff on what constitutes sexual harassment (and ensure training is regularly provided so as to avoid this becoming stale).
- Ensure that any third parties the business interacts with (such as customers or suppliers) are also aware of the employer's anti-harassment stance.
MFMac can assist you with any of the above steps. We can provide risk assessment templates, a new sexual harassment policy template and advise on how to complete these documents. We can also provide training, to be tailored to suit your specific requirements and which can be delivered online, hybrid or in-person. If you need assistance with compliance with the new duty, or any of the above, please contact Sarah Gilzean.
