The Worker Protection Act 2023: what it means for employers

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023

A preventative duty on employers to take all reasonable steps: a path to eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace.

On 26^th October 2024, the law in England and Wales is changing in relation to sexual harassment in the workplace. From this month onwards, employers must proactively take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.

The Equality Act 2010 already includes provisions to prevent both sexual harassment and any less favourable treatment due to an employee rejecting or submitting to, conduct of a sexual nature. However, following a report produced by the Equality and Human Right Commission (EHRC) which concluded that the existing protections were insufficient, recommendations were made. Such recommendations included a mandatory duty for employers to take reasonable steps to protect workers from sexual harassment in the workplace.

It has been made clear that this new duty on employers will sit alongside the existing protections afforded by the 2010 Act. The new duty does not create a standalone claim, but can only be considered by the tribunal where an employee’s claim for sexual harassment has been upheld.

In instances where a claim for breach of this duty is upheld, the tribunal can award an uplift of up to 25% to an employee’s discrimination compensation. With compensation in discrimination claims being uncapped, the financial implications of breaching this duty may prove to be extremely significant, in addition to the potential damage to an employer’s reputation.

Employers in England and Wales should now take steps to minimise potential claims and ensure they implement policies and procedures to ensure their staff are aware of the process and expectations.

In preparation for the new duty, the EHRC have developed a new 8 step guide for employers to help prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

Employers should consider the following steps:

1. Developing an effective anti-harassment policy to become part of a company handbook;
2. Engaging with staff in relation to the new legislation and any concerns they may have;
3. Assessing and taking steps to reduce workplace risk, conducting a risk assessment would be particularly helpful;
4. Reporting; staff need to be aware of the process of reporting and have faith in this;
5. Training should be a primary consideration for all employers;
6. Handling harassment complaints; you should have robust procedures in place to ensure complaints are dealt with appropriately and satisfactorily;
7. Dealing with third-party harassment, the new duty includes worker-on-worker harassment and harassment by third parties, such as customer, clients or patients.
8. Monitoring and evaluating actions. Employers should reflect on whether their procedures are effective and work for their business and staff.

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/employer-8-step-guide-preventing-sexual-harassment-work

All employers across England and Wales must be aware of the new changes before they are implemented, and should not wait until sexual harassment occurs. The new duty is hoped to transform workplace cultures to ensure staff are safe and free from sexual harassment in the workplace.

For more guidance on sexual harassment: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/sexual-harassment-and-harassment-work-technical-guidance#the-preventative-duty

For more details of how we can help ensure your business is ready for the implementation of this new duty, please contact contact us on E: [email protected]

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