Six Months On, Has Your Business Taken Reasonable Steps To Prevent Sexual Harassment In The Workplace?

What is reasonable to prevent sexual harassment will depend on various factors such as the employer's size and resources, the sector in which it operates, the working environment and how likely they will come into contact with third parties.

However, the EHRC has published an 8-step guide for employers.

This says that employers should (in summary):

1. Develop an effective anti-sexual harassment policy to provide workers with advice surrounding sexual harassment and the employer’s internal processes for dealing with it;
2. Engage with staff to ensure that workers are aware of how they can report sexual harassment; and the consequences of breaching the policy;
3. Assess and take steps to reduce risk in the workplace to consider the factors that might increase sexual harassment and take steps to minimise them. For example, this could involve barring individuals from pubs or restaurants who exhibit inappropriate behaviour towards staff or other customers;
4. Set up reporting procedures to ensure that they keep records of concerns;
5. Roll out training to workers and managers on what sexual harassment in the workplace looks like; what to do if they experience it or witness it; and how to handle complaints of sexual harassment;
6. Deal with complaints by promptly investigating any incident, offering support the affected employee, and taking disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrator, if necessary. It is important to ensure the complainant is not victimised as a result of making a complaint;
7. Address harassment by third parties including putting reporting mechanisms in place or assessing high-risk workplaces where staff might be left alone with customers. Employers could consider measures such as installing security cameras, providing additional staff during peak hours, or utilising security personnel to help deter inappropriate conduct;
8. Monitor and evaluate actions regularly in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the steps put in place to prevent sexual harassment and implement any changes arising from any evaluation.

Complying with this duty is an ongoing commitment for employers and not just a one-off task.

Even if your business already took steps in October 2024 to ensure compliance by drafting a policy or holding training sessions, it is important to regularly assess and improve any internal procedures.

It should also be noted that, as part of the Employment Rights Bill, the Government intends to reintroduce a requirement to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment, which further expands the employer's duties to ensure compliance with legislation.