Employers urged to establish zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment

Employers and their staff are being urged to create a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment at work ahead of a forthcoming change in the law.

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 comes into effect on Saturday, introducing a legal duty for employers to proactively take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

The conciliation service Acas suggested that employers create a culture where sexual harassment is understood to be unacceptable, including anyone in a position of authority.

Unsafe

It urged firms to adopt a policy on sexual harassment, train managers on their responsibilities, and create an environment where people feel safe to report incidents of sexual harassment and situations where they felt unsafe.

According to a recent Acas survey, 14% of employers and 6% of employees said they had witnessed sexual harassment in their workplace.

Unacceptable

Acas head of inclusive workplaces, Julie Dennis, said: “Sexual harassment is unacceptable at work or anywhere else. We want everyone to understand this, and we are urging employers to take a proactive approach to stamping it out.

“Proper policies and training for managers can help eliminate the potential for sexual harassment to occur. They can also help foster environments where staff feel empowered to report any harassment and avoid it before it occurs.”

Nick Hurley, employment partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said: “Whilst it is clearly difficult for employers to enforce the behaviour of their own employees, let alone third party customers, clients and visitors, it is increasingly important for employers to take preventative action and make abundantly clear to employees and third parties that they will not tolerate sexual harassment.”

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The Worker Protection Act is an important step towards making workplaces safer for workers, particularly women, but more needs to be done.

“No-one should face sexual harassment at work, or in wider society, but we know that women experience sexual harassment and abuse on an industrial scale.

“Many women in essential frontline jobs – like shop workers and GP receptionists – suffer abuse and harassment regularly from clients and customers.

“The new Act, which was hard-won by unions, will put the responsibility firmly on employers to take a pro-active and preventative approach to keeping workers safe from sexual harassment and to tackling it in their workplaces.”