Unpacking the new harassment laws for UK employers

Under the new Worker Protection Bill, employers will need to do more to help prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

Meaning you’ll need to take steps to prevent such claims from happening. If you don’t and an incident happens in your workplace, you could end up making a hefty payout in compensation to staff.

So, now is the time to review your policies and procedures. And to stay legally safe when the update comes in, here’s what you need to know.

Firstly, what counts as sexual harassment at work?

The government’s statutory definition of sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour that either:

• Violates your employee’s dignity.
• Creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for your employee.

An example of sexual harassment might be one worker inappropriately touching another. It might be a sexually suggestive joke or comment about a colleague’s appearance. In some cases, it might go as far as sexual assault.

Sexual harassment isn’t always physical. It can also happen if someone sends offensive and inappropriate messages through social media and work chats.

How is harassment law changing?

While you’re strongly advised to, you don’t legally have to set up an anti-harassment policy or provide training.

It just means that if your employee does make a claim for harassment, you’ll be liable if a tribunal finds that you didn’t take steps to prevent it.

The issue with the current law is that its focus is on tackling sexual harassment cases rather than preventing them. The government now wants this to change. So, employers will legally have to take preventative measures.

Under the new Bill, you’ll have to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent workplace harassment (which we’ll get to later). If you don’t, you’ll automatically be at legal risk.

What if someone who doesn’t work for me harasses my employee?

At first, the government said employers would be liable for third-party harassment. (In other words, harassment towards their staff from people who don’t work for them, like customers.) This is no longer likely to be the case.

Instead, the existing position will stay the same. So, you will only be liable if you don’t deal with third-party harassment because of your employee’s protected characteristic.

What if I have one employee’s word against another’s?

If your employee makes a claim against a colleague and the colleague denies it, you’ll need to investigate. Part of this may involve speaking to witnesses (if there are any) so you can get a better understanding of what happened.

If that’s not possible, you should speak to both employees. It might be that you need to consider mediation (if appropriate) or other types of support.

Whatever your belief, you must stay objective, fair and take the allegations seriously. To do this, you should carry out a full investigation.

Also, be aware that reporting a sexual harassment claim takes a lot of courage and your employee may need additional support. It’s a good idea to direct them to organisations that can help them and your employee assistance programme (EAP) if you have one.

What preventative measures will I need to take by law?

1.       Make sure you have a sexual harassment policy.

Your policy should outline what sexual harassment is and what counts as unacceptable behaviour in the workplace. It should also tell your staff how to report harassment if they ever experience it or see it happening at work.

2.       Provide preventative sexual harassment training.

You should provide training to staff to make sure they understand what behaviour is and isn’t okay.

3.       Be proactive.

Take every harassment complaint seriously and always carry out a full and fair investigation. You should have a process for handling a sexual harassment complaint written in your policy. You may also ask your employee to make a formal complaint.

4.       Practise what you preach.

It goes without saying but you should have zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment. Your policies and procedures aren’t enough to reinforce this. Look out for behaviour that crosses a line. And, don’t be afraid to call out negative behaviour when you see it.

When the update comes in, you’ll need to be prepared. For advice on how to create your policy and training plans, you can speak to an HR expert today for free.

Our experts are on hand to create watertight documents for you, to save you time and keep your business safe from risk.

And if you’re currently dealing with a claim and need to speak to someone urgently, help is on hand 24/7. To get free HR advice, just tap below.