On 26 October 2024, a duty on employers will be introduced to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

Key points for employers:

• Employers should not wait for sexual harassment to happen before taking action.
• Employers are expected to anticipate scenarios in which employees may be subject to sexual harassment in employment
• Take reasonable steps to prevent it.
• If sexual harassment has taken place, the employer should take steps to stop it from happening again.
• The draft guidance emphasises that the preventative duty (and therefore the EHRC’s enforcement powers) also covers harassment by third parties.

Although there is no standalone claim under the Equality Act 2010 where an employer fails to take reasonable steps, there are consequences.

Consequences of non-compliance:

• If an employee successfully brings a sexual harassment claim against your organisation, and it is found by the Employment Tribunal that you failed to take reasonable steps, compensation awarded could be increased by up to 25%.
• You also risk enforcement action by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for non-compliance.

The EHRC has launched a short consultation  on the wording of the new technical guidance on the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The consultation asks a series of short multiple-choice questions and also gives a text box for further comments. The consultation will close on 6 August 2024.

For practical steps you can take to meet the new obligations effectively, get in touch with our employment team at employment@schofieldsweeney.co.uk