Preventing sexual harassment at work: what steps are you taking?

Since 26 October 2024, employers in the UK have had a new proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work.

Different employers may seek to prevent sexual harassment in different ways – there is no prescriptive list of steps in the legislation - but all employers must take action. No employer is exempt from the sexual harassment preventative duty. ?

Unsure where to start? We’ve compiled this article featuring examples of how we have supported clients with meeting this duty to give you some inspiration.

But first, let’s clarify the remit of this legislation:

1)??????? The Equality Act 2010 defines sexual harassment as unwanted conduct?of?a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.

2)??????? “At work” doesn’t just mean in the workplace. Think bigger picture. Consider events (whether organised by the employer, by third parties such as industry networking evenings, or simply informal gatherings of colleagues outside of work). Consider communications – not only work emails, but also personal social media and WhatsApp group chats, even on personal devices out of hours. Consider locations – not just the workplace, but also customer sites, suppliers’ premises, public transport when travelling on business.

3)??????? Harassment by third parties (such as suppliers, customers, patients) is also within scope – it is not simply about the actions of employees.

Why is this important?

Everyone has a right to feel safe and supported at work. If you as an employer do not deal with sexual harassment in your workplace, it can have a damaging effect on your workers’ mental and physical health, as well as on your workplace culture and productivity.

If an employer fails to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, they are breaking the law. The Equality & Human Rights Commission can take enforcement action. Employers also risk an employment tribunal increasing the amount of compensation if an individual’s claim of sexual harassment is successful.

What do employers need to do?

There is no prescriptive list of “reasonable steps” that employers must take. However, by sharing some examples of the activities we have been undertaking at KR HR & Training Consultancy with our clients, we hope it will provide a useful prompt for considering what actions your organisation might need to take.

Over the past few months, the KR HR & Training Consultancy team has been....

• Drafting effective anti-harassment policies, with a specific focus on sexual harassment.
• Developing risk assessment frameworks. We have developed a framework which helps leaders to consider what risk factors may be present in their workplace and suggestions to mitigate the risks. The template covers a wide range of potential risk factors, from the demographics of your workforce to industry specific factors, such as working in environments where alcohol is served.
• Engaging teams to identify potential issues and concerns. How do you know if, for example, there is an unofficial group WhatsApp chat with inappropriate “banter” if as CEO you haven’t been invited to join the group? The simplest way is to ask! We have conducted employee surveys for many clients where responses are submitted anonymously. Results are presented in a report for the senior leadership team, identifying issues and concerns which then feeds into the risk assessment, next steps and employee communications about how their feedback is being used.
• Considering reporting mechanisms. It needs to be clear, easy and safe to report concerns. This could include posters in the workplace with QR codes and/or a variety of individuals to report to – we are named as alternative contacts for many of our clients, as not everyone feels comfortable going straight to the boss (or indeed they may have a concern relating to a senior manager).
• Providing training. This is essential for all your team members, especially line managers, so they are clear on what is and what is not acceptable and how to respond to concerns or incidents. Many of our clients who use Breathe HR have taken advantage of the sexual harassment e-learning courses within the Learn module. However generic e-learning on its own is unlikely to be sufficient and should be supplemented with bespoke in-person briefings or training sessions.
• Investigating complaints. A clear procedure for investigating complaints is essential. We often take a hands-on role in investigating complaints so employees are comfortable that matters are handled impartially and taken seriously.
• Evaluating and monitoring. Complying with the preventative duty is not a one-off task. It’s important to regularly review risk assessments at regular intervals and always whenever there is an incident.

?If you would like to talk through how to implement your organisation’s approach to the preventative duty on sexual harassment, please get in touch on 01249 701486 or [email protected].

KR HR & Training Consultancy is an award-winning team based in Wiltshire and supporting SMEs and charities across the South West with all aspects of people strategy, HR delivery and employee development. For further information, visit www.krhrconsultancy.co.uk

We are also suppliers of Breathe HR software, which includes a self-service HR information system, e-learning modules and more. Find out more about Breathe HR or arrange a free trial here: https://krhrconsultancy.co.uk/hr-software/