October (26th) will see the Worker Protection and Sexual Harassment Policy come into force, the policy is aimed at addressing workplace harassment and is part of the Equality Act 2010.
The new legislation will require businesses to take ‘reasonable’ steps to protect their employees from sexual harassment at work, and experts foresee the legislation as a “significant step forward” in protecting workers from sexual harassment, because of its focus on “prevention” rather than “remedy”.
Previously there was no proactive legal obligation on employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment at work.
What should employers do to prepare?
Research has shown a recent increase in cases of sexual harassment in the workplace, with a number of high-profile cases hitting the headlines. A recent survey by WorkNest identified that just 5% of businesses agree they are well prepared for new sexual harassment legislation coming into force.
As an employer, you have a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment in the workplace. Failing in that can lead to claims, and when it comes to sexual harassment claims, the awards are unlimited.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published updated guidance in anticipation of the new legislation on sexual harassment coming into force, with the guidance highlighting that the EHRC will have power to take “enforcement action” against employers that do not comply with the new duties.
Under the legislation employers must be proactive in assessing risk, identifying action and regularly review their processes, and employers need to demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps.
Employers should be proactive and systematic in how they prevent and tackle sexual harassment at work. Priority areas for consideration include:
- Organisational and cultural change
- Policies and procedures
- Training and development
- Reporting channels and investigating
- Monitoring and review
As award-winning industry leaders, Oculus HR stand out from the crowd with our approach to Real HR. We are a team of specialists and operations support, providing innovative and flexible HR solutions to SMEs regionally and nationally.
Our experienced team can support you with the implementation of the Worker Protection and Sexual Harassment Policy from delivering bespoke training sessions, support with risk assessments, ensuring all policies are refreshed and up to date through to support with putting actions into place.
This will be a legal requirement, contact [email protected] to discuss the bespoke package we can deliver for your business.
