On 26 October 2023, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act received Royal Assent and is therefore expected to come into force in October 2024.

The new legislation will amend the section 40 of the Equality Act 2010 in order to impose a duty on employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, thereby extending safeguarding measures and protection for employees. In addition to this, the Act will also allow for compensation uplifts of up to 25% to be made by Employment Tribunals where an employer is found to have breached its preventative duties.

The provisions of the Act have been altered significantly since it was originally introduced as a private members’ Bill back in June 2022. The Bill had originally set out that employers would be required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment, however this has now been removed. This has raised concerns that the threshold for employers to be able to establish they have fulfilled their preventative duties has ultimately been lowered, nevertheless, the new legislation is an important step towards prioritising the protection of employees and improving culture within the workplace.

In addition to this, the Bill had initially proposed to re-introduce third-party liability, meaning that employers could have been held liable where they had failed to prevent the harassment of their employees by a third-party. This proposal, however, attracted widespread criticism amid fears about the burden that this would place on employers and the increased risk that they would subsequently be exposed to. As a result, the House of Lords made the decision to remove this provision, a change which was accepted by the House of Commons on 20 October 2023.

The European Human Rights Commission (EHRC) now intends to update its guidance on sexual harassment in the workplace in order to set out the steps that employers will be required to take in order to be compliant with the new legislation coming into force.

Whilst the Act is not set to come into force until next year, employers should be proactive and ensure that they have robust policies and training in place to address incidents of harassment within the workplace when they occur. Clear guidelines should be established and implemented in regards to the procedure that should be taken should the situation arise. Employers should also consider any policies currently in place which address workplace harassment to ensure that they reflect the new legislative requirements.

This blog was co-authored by Laura Wharton and Lydia Lambert.