Altum HR Insights
A New Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Is your Organisation Prepared?
On the 26th of October 2024, the Worker Protection Bill was updated to strengthen the existing Legislation protecting workers against sexual harassment.
The New Legislation states that…
- Employers have a new duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ towards preventing sexual harassment of their employees.
- This duty applies to the sexual harassment of the organisation’s own workers, but additionally third parties, spanning to clients and customers.
- There have been updates to Employment Tribunals, where employers are
found to have breached their duty, and failed to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. Tribunals will have the ability to increase
compensation by as much as 25%. - The new duty also is enforceable by the Equality and Human Rights
Commission (EHRC), which also includes the ability to conduct investigations and intervene if necessary.
These updates present an important opportunity for organisations to increase awareness around sexual harassment in the workplace and implement proper procedures and training to support this.
What does your workplace culture look like?
When tackling Sexual Harassment in the workplace, creating the right workplace culture is key. Do your employees feel safe and protected at work? Is your workplace culture echoing the stance you need to take as an employer against sexual harassment? Employers must lead by example, and take a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment.
Taking a proactive, anticipatory approach…
The new duty for employers includes taking a proactive anticipatory approach. Instead of waiting for an incident of sexual harassment to take place, and dealing with this. Employers should instead regularly review their current working practices and establish any potential scenarios or environments where workers may be subject to harassment. From this, employers must demonstrate they have taken the necessary reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from happening and essentially eradicate this from your workforce.
Training and Awareness…
Training on the topic of sexual harassment is even more pertinent under the new legislation. As part of Employer’s New Mandatory Duty, training all employees and even third parties on how to prevent sexual harassment is essential.
- Training on sexual harassment should be company-wide.
- Training should focus on empowering individuals to speak up against sexual harassment, and how to report any incidents.
- Training and policies should be regularly updated, to ensure they are effective and specific to the organisation.
Altum HR has created a comprehensive training package to help you navigate these updates within your business. If you would like to deepen your understanding on how to tackle discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, then we invite you to explore our new discrimination training package, designed to equip you with the skills to build a more inclusive workplace.
If you would like any bespoke guidance or advice regarding how to implement these changes in your business, please reach out to us on the following platforms:
Call now for instant HR advice on 0800 048 5764 or WhatsApp 07432 275612.
Book an HR Consultation
From HR advice, policies to Employment Law, Redundancy Support and Employee Contracts - we can help. Leave your details below and we'll be in touch.
Your data will be processed inline with our privacy policy. We respect your right to privacy and continuously strive to ensure that all data that we collect and store is done so securely and is properly protected.