Employment Law Update August 2024
Reasons to choose Wilson Browne
The Duty To Prevent Sexual Harassment In The Workplace
As previously reported, as of October 2024, every employer will have a legal duty to actively prevent sexual harassment at work. Given that:
- if the employer is shown to do nothing to prevent harassment, it’s liable, and the tribunal can bump up any compensation by up to 25%, or
- If the employer takes some reasonable steps to prevent harassment (e.g. has a anti-harassment policy), it’s still liable but no uplift will be applied to the compensation awarded.
Conversely, if the employer takes all reasonable steps, any claim would fail. Reasonable steps include:
- Policies – these should clearly set out what constitutes sexual harassment and how it can be reported,
- Training – this should sit alongside and underpin the policies. In addition to covering what is sexual harassment, the training should also include:
- advice for staff witnessing sexual harassment,
- how complaints can be made, and
- how complaints will be handled.
- Having a robust process in place for reporting complaints.
- Carrying out risk assessments.
Posted:
Jennie Jahina
Partner
Jennie is a Partner and Head of the Employment team. A member of the Employment Lawyers Association, Jennie has 21 years’ experience and is an accredited CEDR Mediator. She acts for private sector organisations ranging from SMEs to multi-national companies and public sector organisations.