DEI legal development: New duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment at work

On 26 October 2024, the new mandatory duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees came into force. Many aspects of the new duty will be relevant to those advising organisations on diversity, equity and inclusion issues, policies and procedures. 

 

The updated Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Guidance on sexual harassment at work is clear that compliance with the duty is objective, but what is reasonable will vary from employer to employer considering factors such as the organisation’s size and resources. Notably, the Employee Rights Bill proposes to expand the duty to require employers to take “all reasonable steps” which would significantly increase the burden of compliance. 

 

The Guidance is clear that employers will be expected to conduct a risk assessment to identify the specific sexual harassment risks in their organisation and produce an action plan setting out the reasonable steps they propose to take to mitigate these risks. Further, the duty extends to protecting employees from harassment by third parties during their employment and the Employment Rights Bill proposes to reintroduce the right to bring a claim for third party harassment, which was previously dropped during the Parliamentary process.

 

Overall, the duty looks beyond single isolated acts and imposes a wider, ongoing and proactive obligation that requires employers to tackle cultural standards across their organisation by anticipating risks that might exist and considering how best to respond to these. This recognises that sexual harassment is often a manifestation of broader cultural issues within the workplace, which cannot be addressed by responding to allegations and incidents in isolation.

 

Please see our EmploymentLinks blogpost and our guide for more details on how to comply with the new duty, and get in touch with us for more information on how to promote a safe and inclusive workspace culture that addresses sexual harassment effectively.