What you need to do to ensure you are meeting your legal obligation to prevent Sexual Harassment at work – effective 27th October 2024.

The Worker Protection Act comes into effect on 27th October this year. Employers in the UK will have a legal duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. This demonstrates a significant shift from ‘reactive’ to ‘proactive’ measures, as the new Act places a duty upon employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace upfront, rather than just dealing with a complaint if and when it arises.

And I can already hear you saying, so what are these reasonable steps? Currently, there is only consultation guidance available, which means that the guidance could change depending on the feedback received. However, the key elements to note at this stage are:

• It advocates a risk assessment approach: assessing the risks for particular industries, employers and job roles and considering and implementing steps that are appropriate in those contexts.
• It makes clear that it considers the duty to extend to preventing sexual harassment of workers by third parties (e.g customers). Individuals still do not have the right to bring a standalone claim against their employer for third party harassment, but the employer is under a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent third party harassment and a failure to comply with that duty could lead to he employer having to take action to prevent such harassment.

It’s likely that more detail will follow in September, and as the detail is defined, we will of course send you any updated information. However, here’s some proactive steps you could be taking now and are a good place to start.

1.Create and support an inclusive and psychologically safe culture

Creating an inclusive culture where people feel psychologically safe to rise issues is key and will be needed to underpin the processes and policies mentioned below.

Senior leaders and managers have a fundamental influence on the working culture of their organisation and set the tone and expectations around workplace behaviour, specifically how employees should act towards one another. Leaders will need to visibly show that they buy into a culture of respect and support zero tolerance of any form of harassment.

As part of this inclusive culture, psychological safety is crucial, and employees should be encouraged to partake in a ‘speak up and speak out’ ethos. All employees should be advised on how to raise concerns and be assured they will not suffer any adverse consequences if they do speak up. Where possible, involving employees of all levels in developing these policies will also help to get greater buy in. Likewise, establishing an employee forum can also help to give employees greater autonomy and the opportunity to speak up safely about what is important to them.

2.Run training regularly 

Training for all employees, specifically for line managers, will be paramount, so that employees understand what sexual harassment is and what their role is in preventing it or, indeed, dealing with it when it happens and also if a complaint is raised. Running training on a regular basis will ensure you have met your legal obligation to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

Managers will need clarity on what constitutes bullying, harassment and sexual harassment, and should know exactly what to do if an employee reports a case to them. We have created our very own Preventing Sexual Harassment at work training and have arranged two dates to conduct this training on line on the 17th October and 29th November. This training is just £199 per person plus VAT.  You can book your place here.

If you’d like us to run your own training in house or online, then you can book a call with us to discuss your training needs here.

Bookings made before the 30th September will receive a 10% discount.

Your Managers must be mindful that there is no ‘one size fits all’ and understand that the experience of each victim will be different. Bullying and sexual harassment rarely happens in plain sight; this means they will need to familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of victims. This might include increased time off work, a refusal to work with certain colleagues, a change in behaviour, more requests to work from home or reduced engagement. Companies should run regular training for all employees, so they understand there is a zero tolerance when it comes to sexual harassment and bullying.

Finally, when new employees join, line managers and HR will need to ensure any induction programme reinforces the company’s expectations in terms of culture, behaviour, zero tolerance to harassment of any kind and explain the policies and procedures in place should anyone have a complaint to make. Making sure that people feel safe to do so from day 1 of their employment will also be important.

3.Create a sexual harassment policy

It’s vital to have a written anti-harassment policy, and its often included with an anti-bullying policy. This policy should be available for all employees to access at any time. The policy should define what sexual harassment is and stress the sheer breadth and complexity of this issue. All policies will need to document a manager’s responsibilities for preventing and tackling sexual harassment. Education is key and the more information a company can equip its managers with, the better.

HR professionals must also carefully assess the effectiveness of their current protocols in preventing and addressing instances of sexual harassment, identifying any gaps or shortfalls that need to be addressed. If you need an updated Anti-Harassment Policy, get in touch with us at help@merakihr.com. 

4.Manage all complaints effectively and appropriately

Having a clear complaints procedure, usually called a “grievance procedure” that all employees understand is critical. It should be simple for employees to report any inappropriate behaviour. Line managers should offer regular check-ins with their team, alongside multiple opportunities for their team to raise anything. This might include team meetings, one to ones, exit interviews and so forth. Employers may also wish to consider the use of an anonymous app for employees to raise any grievances.

All grievances or complaints should be responded to promptly and comprehensively. Any evidence of discriminatory behaviour or harassment will need to be investigated and acted on quickly. Companies may wish to use an external HR consultancy to handle these investigations and/or support employees during this time. They may also wish to consider using emerging technology to record, monitor and report on complaints.

5.Monitor and evaluate 

Employers will need to ensure they are well informed about what is going on at their organisation. Part of this will be to understand their existing culture, such as looking at available data including exit interviews, Glassdoor reviews, market perception of the business.

Likewise, if any formal or informal complaints about individuals or departments have been made previously, they should probe deeper into these to understand all the complexities, ensuring bias doesn’t creep in.

Working with your HR Team or an HR consultancy, means you can also undertake “stay interviews” which help you to get a good view of what’s going on in the business and how people feel about work/their environment etc. All of this will create a wealth of data that the company can harness in the longer term.

6.Ensure the tone is set from the top 

The values of a business should be clear, and role modelled at every level. Senior management must build a zero-tolerance culture and live and breathe this themselves. This includes taking prompt action if any concerns are raised, and ensuring all complaints are investigated and handled professionally and all employees feel valued and safe.

What are the consequences of not meeting your legal obligation to prevent sexual harassment? 

The consequences of non-compliance are substantial. Not only will they impact a business financially, as 25% more compensation could be awarded to any claimants if you have failed to meet your legal obligation, there will also be reputational damage issues too. After all, gaining a reputation for a non-inclusive environment will damage a company’s brand and make it harder for them to hire good people and find or keep good customers!

This new Act will put responsibility firmly on to the business to take action proactively in advance, rather than to wait and see if any complaints or grievances arise. This will require new training, robust policies, greater monitoring and a truly inclusive, values-based culture underpinning everything the company does.

How can we help?

Worried about any of this, then book a call with us here and we can chat about your policies, culture and offer you and your team training.