Advo HR Consultant, Matt McSweeney, looks again at recent legislation changes, in particular sexual harassment legislation as our team have seen an increase in queries as it seems some are still not complaint.
On 26th October 2024 a new piece of legislation came into effect, the Worker Protection Act, an amendment to the Equality Act 2010. This now places an explicit duty on employers to prevent Sexual Harassment of their employees by fellow workers but now also third parties.
Since this change, Advo have seen a significant increase in the number of cases of this nature being reported, even more so since the festive period.
There have been instances of inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature within the workplace and at work social events, and it has become apparent that businesses have failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment in the first place.
Businesses have failed to inform their employees of the change in legislation, also failed to complete a risk assessment, and failed to train managers on what to do if a complaint was raised.
If a claim was lodged and a case was made to an Employment Tribunal, such failures to prevent and identify sexual harassment risks in the workplace, and failure to take the necessary active steps, would see an automatic 25% uplift to any award given by the tribunal.
We appreciate that no business would wish to receive a sexual harassment claim. However, it is apparent that employees are more aware than ever of their legal rights under the new legislation to raise claims of this nature and so the number of such claims may escalate.
A recent case which illustrates this, and which made the national news, is that of a Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission employee who raised a claim against a fellow co-worker for unwanted and inappropriate physical contact at a work dinner event. The commission investigated the matter after another colleague, who witnessed the incident, lodged a formal complaint. The employee was also not satisfied with how the disciplinary process was handled by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
She settled her case against the colleague for £21,000 and accepted a further settlement of £15,000 from her employer.
Employees look to their employers to make sure that they are working in a safe environment. Everyone, no matter what level, deserves the right to work in an environment that is free from intimidation and harassment.
Advo would therefore recommend that all businesses take pro-active action now to protect themselves and implement all reasonable steps to prevent any form of sexual harassment in the workplace. Examples of this include –
- Reviewing your current policies.
- Completing a risk assessment.
- Ensure that all employees and workers are fully aware of the standards of conduct expected and that any form of sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
- Ensure that all third party contractors, suppliers, clients or individuals visiting your business are made aware of your policy and any form of sexual harassment will not be tolerated.
- Training employees and managers on sexual harassment and the steps to take if this is witnessed and / or reported to them.
At Advo, we can support and provide advice to business of all aspect of this legalisation. We can deliver a bespoke training course for employees and management to understand the new legislation, what their duty is, and what do to if a sexual harassment case is presented to them.
Please contact Advo for more information on this training.
Staff Support & Training
As an Advo client you can book the HR Team to deliver training to Managers and Employees on a wide range of subjects including the recent changes in Sexual Harassment legislation. Our courses are bespoke designed to inform and motivate. To book or find out more, just reach out to your Advo contact.