The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into force on 26th October 2024, and requires employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
Acas has provided guidelines for what is considered sexual harassment in the workplace as the following:
flirting, gesturing or making sexual remarks about someone's body, clothing or appearance; or
asking questions about someone's sex life; or
telling sexually offensive jokes, making sexual comments or jokes about someone's sexual orientation or gender reassignment; or
displaying or sharing pornographic or sexual images, or other sexual content; or
touching someone against their will, for example, hugging them; or
sexual assault or rape; or
sexual harassment via social media
All of the above actions are covered by employees, workers, contractors, self-employed people, job applicants, customers and clients.
The sexual harassment must subjectively, but reasonably, have the effect of violating a person’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. It does not matter whether the actions were intended to cause distress or not.
The duty that falls on employers is a proactive duty rather than a reactive duty, as employers are required to anticipate when sexual harassment may occur, and thus put in place reasonable steps to prevent it.
While this may be the case, individuals are not able to bring a claim against their employer for failing in the preventative duty. The failure of such can only be analysed once a claim for sexual harassment against the employer has been successful.
If an Employment Tribunal find the employer to have failed in its preventative duty, as well as liable for the sexual harassment, then the tribunal can order a compensation uplift of up to 25%.
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