On 9 July 2024, the EHRC published Consultation: Technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work seeking views on proposed guidance on the new preventative duty on employers to take reasonable steps to protect their workers from sexual harassment, which the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 will introduce from 26 October 2024 (see FC Feature 26 October 2023). Responses to the consultation are requested by 6 August 2024 (EHRC Press Release).
The EHRC's Technical guidance: Sexual harassment and harassment at work was originally issued in January 2020 to help employers, workers and their representatives understand the Equality Act 2010 protections against workplace harassment. The updates include a new Chapter 3 setting out additional information and advice to help employers carry out the new duty, which requires them to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.
Where the preventative duty has been breached, the Act will empower the EHRC to take enforcement action against employers. Employment tribunals will also be able to increase compensation for sexual harassment by up to 25%.
The EHRC notes it has made minor changes elsewhere in the guidance, for example to reflect recent case law and the Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (see FC Feature 2 January 2024). However, the consultation concerns the new proposed guidance on the preventative duty alone.
For further information about protections from harassment related to sex in the workplace, see Sex/Harassment related to sex and for protections against workplace harassment generally see Discrimination: Overview/Harassment.
