The introduction of the Worker Protection Bill 2023, which is an amendment of the Equality Act 2010, is a critical step towards safeguarding employees from misconduct.
Here we talk about what the law covers, the implications for employers and employees and how it could reshape the landscape of workplace conduct and culture.
What is ‘sexual harassment’ under the Worker Protection Bill?
The Worker Protection Bill – the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 –adopts the definition of sexual harassment from Section 26(2) of the Equality Act 2010. Under this definition, sexual harassment includes any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that:
- Violates an individual’s dignity.
- Creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for the individual.
This definition covers a broad range of behaviours, including verbal comments, physical actions, or other conduct of a sexual nature that might not necessarily be directed at a specific individual but still impacts the workplace environment.
What are the key provisions of the Worker Protection Bill?
Building on the Equality Act, the Worker Protection Bill introduces more stringent obligations for employers to actively prevent sexual harassment. It also makes them accountable for preventing misconduct and managing complaints professionally.
Employer duty to prevent sexual harassment
Employers are legally required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment.
While the law does not exhaustively list what constitutes reasonable steps, these could include:
Implementing and regularly updating anti-harassment policies
Clear guidelines should be set out, stating what behaviours are unacceptable and the consequences.
Employers need to develop clear anti-harassment policies that explicitly define what constitutes sexual harassment, the reporting mechanisms available to employees, and establish a framework for investigating and addressing complaints. These policies should be communicated effectively to all employees and integrated into the organisation’s training programmes.
Providing regular training for employees and managers
Preventing Sexual Harassment training can help ensure that everyone understands what sexual harassment is, how to prevent it, and how to report it.
Training ensures employees understand their rights and responsibilities under the new law. It should be extended to managers and HR personnel, ensuring they understand how to manage complaints sensitively and effectively.
Creating a culture of awareness can help prevent incidents before they arise.
Monitoring and evaluation
Organisations should establish processes to monitor the workplace environment actively. This could involve regular surveys to gauge employee sentiment, anonymous reporting tools, and periodic reviews of workplace culture and policies.
By continuously evaluating the effectiveness of preventative measures, employers can identify areas for improvement.
Establishing effective reporting mechanisms
Employers should create safe and confidential ways for employees to report harassment without fear of retaliation.
These are some key features of effective reporting mechanisms:
- Confidentiality. Employees should be assured that their reports are confidential. Confidentiality helps to protect the identity of the complainant, reducing the risk of gossip, retaliation, or victimisation.
- Accessibility. The reporting mechanisms should be easily accessible to all employees. This could involve multiple reporting channels such as online platforms, dedicated phone lines, or designated human resources personnel.
- Clarity and simplicity. Complicated procedures can discourage employees from reporting incidents. Employers should provide clear guidelines and training on how to report harassment, what to expect after making a report, and how the process will be handled.
- Protection against retaliation. A critical aspect of effective reporting is ensuring that employees can report harassment without fear of retaliation. Employers must explicitly communicate that retaliation is prohibited and will be subject to disciplinary action.
- Prompt and impartial investigation. Once a report is made, it should be addressed promptly and investigated impartially. Employers should have trained personnel or external experts to manage investigations to ensure objectivity.
- Support systems. Employers should offer support to employees who report harassment, which may include counselling services, legal advice, or access to employee assistance programmes.
Conducting risk assessments
Risk assessments involve systematically evaluating the workplace to identify potential areas or situations where sexual harassment could occur. The purpose is to proactively address these risks and implement measures to prevent harassment from happening.
Once risks have been identified, employers should implement measures to minimise or eliminate these risks. This could include installing better lighting in certain areas, increasing supervision, changing work schedules to reduce isolated work situations, or providing additional training on harassment prevention.
Employer accountability
The Worker Protection Bill brings a new layer of accountability. By defining the failure to meet the preventive duty as unlawful, the law imposes a clear obligation on employers.
Employees can bring complaints to employment tribunals if they believe their employer has failed to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
Compensation uplift
The Bill introduces the concept of a “compensation uplift” in cases where sexual harassment has occurred, and the employer is found to have failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.
Under new Section 124A, the employment tribunal can increase the compensation by up to 25% if it determines that the employer contravened their duty to prevent harassment.
Sexual harassment training – protect your employees and organisation
The Worker Protection Bill 2023 is a progressive measure that prioritises the safety and dignity of employees. By imposing a proactive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment, the legislation aims to foster a safer, more inclusive work environment.
Our Preventing Sexual Harassment training course helps your organisation to prevent sexual harassment by ensuring employees understand their responsibilities, how to identify different types of sexual harassment, and what to do if they witness or experience sexual harassment.
Find out more about Preventing Sexual Harassment training on our website or contact our friendly team on 0203 011 4242/info@praxis42.com
Adam Clarke
Managing Director (Consulting)
