Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment: EHRC publishes new guidance

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published new guidance for employers on the duty to prevent sexual harassment at work, containing a checklist, action plan and monitoring logs. The checklist was originally designed for the hospitality sector, but the EHRC says that it can be adapted to suit other workplaces.

On 12 November 2024, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published guidance for employers in relation to the new duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which came into force on 26 October 2024. The guidance includes a checklist, action plan and monitoring logs. 

The checklist covers three main areas for employers to consider:

• Communication with staff.

• Changing the work environment to make it as safe as possible.

• Putting in place policies and procedures to make sure the employer knows when sexual harassment happens and how it is dealt with.

The guidance covers the actions an employer should consider taking in each of these three areas before a shift, at the start of a shift and at the end of a shift. An employer should consider who will use the checklist, for example managers or supervisors, and how staff can be supported to best use it through training and awareness campaigns.

Employers can use the action plan to record any actions to be taken to make the checklist part of its working practices. This may include matters such as updating policies, raising awareness and supporting staff to use the checklist at the correct times. The EHRC suggests that a monitoring log should also be completed after each shift to help monitor how the checklist is being used and log any changes that may be needed, with a more in-depth log every quarter to assist with monitoring the effectiveness of the employer's strategy.

This latest guidance follows the EHRC's updated technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work and an eight-step guide for employers, which were published in advance of the new duty coming into force.

Sources: 
EHRC: Preventing sexual harassment at work: checklist and action plan for employers (12 November 2024)
Practical Law, Thomson Reuters

If you would like to discuss sexual harassment training and your duty to prevent harassment in the workplace, please contact our team on hello@starfordlegalhr.com