Writing a risk assessment: preventing Sexual Harassment (UK)
An employer must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from 26th October 2024. They have a duty to anticipate when sexual harassment may occur and take reasonable steps to prevent it. If sexual harassment occurs there must be steps taken to address the situation and stop it from happening again. ACAS and the Equality and Human Rights Commission are signposted as officially recognised guidance, several law firms and solicitors have also posted useful information on their websites and can offer specific support and guidance.
Relevant legislation
Equality Act 2010
Employment Rights Bill (in progress)
Clear definition needed for risk assessment
Unwanted conduct that has the purpose or effect (even if unintended) of:
* violating the worker’s dignity, or
* creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that worker
People at Risk
Covers anyone “in employment” including clients, customers, service users, general public and conference delegates. Recruitment and interview are also covered.
Anticipate and prevent
Each of these unwanted conducts should be considered in the Risk Assessment:
* making sexual remarks about someone’s body, clothing or appearance
* asking questions about someone’s sex life
* telling sexually offensive jokes
* making sexual comments or jokes about someone’s sexual orientation or gender reassignment
* displaying or sharing pornographic or sexual images, or other sexual content
* touching someone against their will, for example hugging them
* sexual assault or rape
Risk factors
* Customer-facing duties
* A culture that permits offensive “banter”
* Lack of diversity e.g male dominated workforces
* Socialising outside of work and informal settings
* Staff or customers drinking alcohol
* Lone working
* Power imbalance (risks to employees from managers and supervisors)
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* Workers with job insecurity (e.g temporary contracts, zero-hours) who may not report sexual harassment due to the threat of losing work
Prevention – practical steps / risk assessment control measures
* Educate workers on what unwanted conduct is and actions to take if sexual harassment has taken place (including social media and digital communication)
* Foster an inclusive culture with a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment, with regular training and communication on changes to policy and reminders of a zero-tolerance approach
* Implementing a clear anti-harassment policy
* Include consultation with employees on policy, preventative measures and risks they encounter
* Publicise and make accessible policy and risk assessment
* Monitor and review regularly
Response – practical steps / risk assessment control measures
* Training for workers and managers on reporting sexual harassment
* Systems in place for reporting concerns or ‘near misses’
* An established, clearly communicated reporting system: could be in person, online or via a telephone-based service with option to stay anonymous
* Consider having more than one official route for reporting sexual harassment, to thwart power imbalances
* Or better yet dismantle power imbalances with secure jobs for all workers and horizontal leadership structure
* An established, transparent complaint handling service:
- All complaints are investigated
- A nominated (trained) contact supports the complainant
* Detecting sexual harassment: look out for warning signs like sickness absence, poor performance, behaviour change, resignation or comments made in exit interviews. Consider this for persons at risk, with additional provision for persons who have reported sexual harassment.
* Does a worker who has committed sexual harassment a risk to other workers or third parties? Suspension or disciplinary process should be considered.
*Monitor and evaluate:
- Review complaints and identify trends or issues
- Conduct anonymous staff surveys on whether they have witnessed or been sexually harassed, if (or not) they would use the reporting system and what further steps they think the employer should take
- Hold lessons learned sessions after complaints are closed: ask what steps have been taken to address the situation and have those steps stopped it from happening again
References