From the 26 October 2024 there will be a new positive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to
prevent sexual harassment. This is both an anticipator and preventative duty, meaning you should be taking steps NOW to prevent sexual harassment rather than simply implementing change in response to a complaint
Any employer failing to comply risks being on the receiving end of a 25% uplift on any employment tribunal awards made against them. In addition, the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) also has power to take enforcement action against non compliant employers. This is an independent power that the EHRC will be able to exercise at any time.
There is no one size fits all solution here and what reasonable steps you will need to take will depend not only on the industry you operate within but also the size of your business and the resources available to you.
Whilst steps such as introducing / updating your existing harassment policy and backing this up with regular training will be important, your obligations will not end there. It will be important to consider where the areas of risk are in your business, documenting this thought process, as well as identifying what pro-active steps can be taken to address them based on your size and resources. Where a step is identified but not taken, likewise document why.
In addition, it will be important to ensure everyone is clear on how concerns can and should be reported, as well as ensuring you are ready, if the need arises, to respond quickly and sensitively to any allegations made. Having an action plan in place here and communicating it to relevant managers will also be important. These measures will need to include protections to your workforce from third party harassment, a matter of some emphasis in the EHRC’s draft updated technical guidance. Making third parties attending your premises and / or using your services aware of your zero tolerance policy will also be important and you will need to consider how this will be communicated.
One obvious area of risk, but by no means the only risk, is that of social events and, dare we say it, with Christmas parties around the corner this new duty cannot be ignored. That is unless you are prepared to bear the risk of having to pay more in either tribunal awards or settlements going forward, and bearing in mind there is no financial cap on what can be awarded for loss of earnings in discrimination claims!