As an employer, you have new responsibilities to prevent Sexual Harassment in the workplace.
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into effect in October 2024. The legislation places new requirements on employers to take steps in the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The legislation is very clear on the actions that employers are expected to take in order to prevent sexual harassment at work and the requirement is to take “all reasonable steps”. The emphasis is on “all”. Having a policy or asking employees to undertake some generic training will no longer be sufficient to meet the requirements of the legislation. If you fail to meet your requirements and an employee brings a sexual discrimination claim against you which they win, the employee can be awarded a 25% uplift on any award they receive. It’s worth remembering that sexual discrimination awards are already uncapped so this could become very expensive very quickly.
Financial repercussions aside, you will want to know that you’ve done all you can to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and the legislation provides a useful framework against which you can take action.
We offer consulting services to help you ensure that you understand your obligations and have the right policies, processes and training in place to meet them.
For more information, take a look at our preventing sexual harassment FAQ.
Key Service Features
for Preventing Sexual Harassment for HR
Template documents that you can use as a starting point to undertake your risk assessment and create your policy
Consultancy support if you want a helping hand in undertaking your risk assessment
Consultancy support to develop and deliver training that is specific to your organisation
How We Can Help You
The legislation is clear regarding the steps that employers need to take in relation to preventing sexual harassment. We can help you ensure you meet your obligations.
- We can undertake your risk assessment for you, provide you with a detailed report and action plan that you can then implement to minimise the risks.
- We can provide training to your employees and managers.
- We can simply provide you with guidance on what you need to do and answer any questions you have regarding your obligations..
Ultimately, we can be as involved or as invisible as you like.
“As a small business owner with developing needs and challenges, it’s been invaluable having a trusted partner on hand to guide and advise us.
LighterHR gives us confidence to make clear, concise decisions.
Ian Tomalin-Hall
CEO, Grammatik
Preventing Sexual Harassment Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to take action?
No one can force you to take action, of course, but the legislation is not optional.
If you fail to take action and someone experiences sexual harassment in the workplace, you will have left yourself in a very difficult position.
We strongly recommend that you take action on this as complying with the requirements of the legislation is not difficult and you will also be able to feel more confident that you are doing all you can to protect your employees.
I’m worried that talking about sexual harassment may see employees raise historic issues. How do I manage that?
There’s a reality that, if things have happened in your business in the past that haven’t been dealt with, you would be better to know about them.
If people come forward to talk about things that have happened historically you should listen, speak with them about how they would like to move things forward and act appropriately.
if something comes up that you are not sure how to deal with, get some help.
We already do online sexual harassment training, does that meet our obligations?
It might, it might not!
The legislation is clear that training needs to be specific to your organisation and the risks that are evident in your environment. Generic, off-the-shelve training is unlikely to fulfil this requirement.
What many of our clients are doing is continuing with the online training they have already done, but then adding a 60 – 90 minute briefing session that speaks specifically to the risks in their organisation.
If I do everything I am supposed to do in relation to preventing sexual harassment, does that mean my employees can’t bring an employment tribunal claim?
No.
We need to be clear and honest here – there is nothing that anyone can do that will remove the risk of an employment tribunal claim altogether.
Even if you do everything right, an employee may still decide to pursue a claim against you. However, if you have met all of your obligations regarding preventing sexual harassment, you have put yourself in the best possible position to defend the claim.
What Do I Do Now?
If you have not yet completed your risk assessment, updated your policies and given training to your managers, that’s what you need to do. We can help you with all of these things.
To understand the options for support with preventing sexual harassment, use the sidebar to book a consultation, complete the contact form or call us on 0203 535 5750, and our team will start helping you straight away.