Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace
The NUJ has welcomed a new duty on employers requiring them to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in workplaces.
Sexual harassment within the workplace continues to be rife within many industries including the media industry. The Equality Act 2010 defines sexual harassment as unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for them. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 amends the Equality Act 2010, introducing a new duty to prevent sexual harassment, including third party harassment.
According to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) around 52 per cent of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace and in the 2019 ‘Sexual harassment of LGBT people in the workplace’ survey, 68 per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people reported being sexually harassed at work. Additionally, a survey conducted by the BBC in 2019 found that 40 per cent of women and 18 per cent of men reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviours at work.
Following consultation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), published updated technical guidance for employers on the steps they can take to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Some of the actions recommended to employers in the guidance include:
- Developing and widely communicating a robust anti-harassment policy, which includes third party sexual harassment
- Undertaking regular risk assessments to identify where sexual harassment may occur and the steps that will be taken to prevent it
- Being proactively aware of what is happening in the workplace and any warning signs, by engaging with staff through 1-2-1s, surveys and exit interviews
- Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of actions
The NUJ welcomes the new preventive duty coming into force on 26 October 2024, which purportedly aims to improve workplace cultures requiring employers to proactively protect their workers, by requiring them to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment (‘preventative duty’). Previously, there had been no proactive legal obligation on employers to take any preventative measures. Now, where an employer acts in breach of its duty, a tribunal has the power to uplift compensation levels by up to 25 per cent.
Everyone has the right to feel safe and supported in their workplace. Good employers should be consulting with unions now on how they propose to meet their duties both now and in the near future.