Employers Duties to Protect Employees from Sexual Harassment

What is reasonable will depend on the size of the employer, the nature of the workplace, the risks present in the workplace, the types of third parties workers may come into contact with and the likelihood of workers coming into contact with such third parties.

The obligations on a smaller employer whose workers have no contact with the third parties will therefore be lower than a large multi-national whose workers are regularly in contact with customers or other third parties. However, all employers big or small will still have a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment.

All employers should therefore be considering the risks of sexual harassment. Undertaking a risk assessment of those risks could assist with deciding on what actions would be reasonable to take.

Other practical steps would be to ensure policies and procedures relating to sexual harassment are in place, up to date and that employees are aware and can easily access the policies and procedures. This should include having clear and effective procedures for dealing with complaints.

Case law has also indicated that effective training which is not simply a tick-box exercise will be paramount to showing an employer has taken reasonable steps to protect employees from harassment.

Situational training is likely to be most effective and this may need to be tailored to those undertaking the training. For example, managers who are dealing with complaints would benefit from training on how to deal with complaints effectively as well as being trained in acceptable behaviours, how to intervene safely and/or support colleagues who have been subjected to sexual harassment which should be rolled out for all level of employees.

If employees have considerable contact with third parties (for example customers, suppliers, contractors or the general public) it may be reasonable to install visible signs or send written notification to customers confirming the employer has a zero tolerance to threats, violence and harassment of its workers and provide a means of third parties reporting instances of staff harassment.

The steps an employer will need to take will depend on the risks of harassment and its structure. The above are only some key steps which employers should consider.

Failing to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment could result in a 25% increase to compensation awards if an employee brings a successful claim. There is no cap on the compensation which can be awarded for harassment.

If you would like more advice on the new obligations and what steps might be reasonable for your business to take, please contact us.