The Worker Protection Act 2023, which came into force in October 2024, placed employers under a positive obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
The new law was introduced against a backdrop of prevalent workplace sexual harassment, with recent statistics indicating that 40% of women and 18% of men had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace, despite the heightened awareness generated by the #MeToo movement back in 2017.
The new preventative duty seeks to address this systemic problem by requiring employers to act proactively to prevent workplace sexual harassment. Failure to do so can result in an uplift of up to 25% in compensation awarded by Employment Tribunals in successful sexual harassment cases, enforcement action by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and reputational damage to businesses.
In order to comply with the new duty, employers are required to conduct detailed sexual harassment risk assessments tailored to the organisation’s size, structure and working practices, update policies so that they clearly define sexual harassment, outline reporting channels and specify sanctions, and train their workforce.
While many employers have made welcome changes in response to the legislation, overall responses have not yet resulted in the cultural change hoped for. A recent WorkNest survey found that 41% of employers had not yet conducted a sexual harassment risk assessment, and many are still treating compliance as a tick box exercise.
With tighter reforms in this area anticipated in the Employment Rights Bill, including the requirement for employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent any form of unlawful harassment, and restricting the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in relation to allegations of harassment and discrimination, compliance with the new law must now be a priority for employers.
To comply with the requirement to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment in the workplace, employers should be preparing now:
- Conduct detailed sexual harassment risk assessments and take meaningful steps to mitigate risks.
- Prepare/update harassment policies to ensure they clearly define what sexual harassment is, set out how harassment can be reported and specify sanctions.
- Arrange training for the workforce on what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and train managers in how to recognise and handle complaints sensitively and promptly.
- Ensure leadership communicates its approach to sexual harassment and tackles the issue of sexual harassment transparently and effectively to create a safe workplace for everyone.
If you require any advice or assistance, or would like to arrange training for your workforce, please contact on 0345 646 0406 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of the team will be in touch.