Employers who fail to put such steps in place may face legal action and can face higher penalties in the event of sexual harassment claims. What should your business do to ensure compliance with these new requirements?
Preventative Duty
Sexual harassment has a wider legal definition than some might think; it is defined as any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. It can therefore include what might be considered by some to be fun, banter or jokes, but is offensive and intimidating to others. Workers can experience sexual harassment from co-workers or third parties such as suppliers, clients or customers. It may occur in the workplace or off-site at social events, training or off-site client visits.
Employers are legally responsible for taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, this extends to PAYE temps. If employers fail to take these steps, the Equality and Human Rights Commission can take enforcement action and there is a risk that an employment tribunal may increase compensation if a worker succeeds in a claim of sexual harassment.
Employer obligations: steps to take
The new obligation requires employers to consider the risks of sexual harassment at work and be proactive in preventing this from occurring but does not prescribe exactly what those reasonable steps may be. Therefore, in each case it would be for a court or tribunal to decide, whether the employer had indeed taken reasonable steps to prevent an occurrence of harassment.
Employers should however consider taking the following steps as a minimum:
- Monitor – Policies and procedures should be kept under review to ensure they remain effective and current
- Policy – ensure that there is in place an appropriate and effective policy that specifically deals with sexual harassment
- Engage – consult and engage with staff and encourage feedback on their experiences to ensure their views are taken into account and all staff are aware of their responsibilities and support
- Risks – assess and identify risk areas applicable to your business and consider and put in place appropriate steps to control those risks
- Reporting – ensure that there are appropriate reporting procedures in place and staff are aware of these
- Training – ensure that staff are provided with appropriate training
Lawspeed can offer advice to employers through our Legal Helpdesk and also offers a comprehensive and up-to-date employment policy, including covering sexual harassment. For expert advice on any recruitment or employment law matter, please contact us on 01273 236 236 or email us at info@lawspeed.com.
