New Bill on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace

A Private Member’s Bill called the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Amendment) Bill has been introduced to Parliament. It proposes to expand the current health and safety duties upon employers which are under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 to also include prevention of workplace harassment. The Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees as far as reasonably practical but if the Bill is passed, it will also add certain obligations to address violence and harassment in the workplace, with a particular focus on sexual harassment.

The provisions in the Bill currently provide an overlap to a great extent with what employers should already be doing to meet their current obligations to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace which came into force in October 2024, namely:

·         Having training on recognising and preventing harassment in the workplace;

·         Conducting risk assessments to identify potential harassment risks;

·         Having policies and procedures in place to eliminate those potential risks.

The difference with the new Bill however is that if the Bill becomes law, then employers who default on their positive duty to prevent sexual harassment could also face enforcement action by the Health & Safety Executive. This could include criminal liability and unlimited fines. The current positive duty just mentions an uplift of up to 25% on Tribunal awards and possible enforcement action by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. 

Whilst this Private Member’s Bill may not become law, it shows that many parties are keen to strengthen further the positive duty to prevent sexual harassment.  The Government is considering introducing a ban on employers using non‑disclosure agreements (or settlement agreements) in cases of sexual misconduct and harassment. This ban is currently not contained in the Employment Rights Bill but Justin Madders, the Workers’ Rights Minister, has indicated that the Government is ready to amend the legislation in the coming months.  It has confirmed that it will implement the previous government’s ban on the use of NDAs in Universities to silence victims of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct but also to extend the protection to all employees with the emphasis on increasing employee rights concerning sexual harassment.   

Employers need to ensure they take steps to comply with the positive duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace by conducting risk assessments to identify potential harassment risks, having policies and procedures designed to limit those risks and having training in place for managers and employees on recognising and preventing potential harassment in the workplace. 

The Employment Team at Lupton Fawcett can provide suitable training to help to comply with the positive duty, as well as reviewing policies and procedures on sexual harassment and can provide a pro forma staff survey and risk assessment document. For details of this please contact a member of the Employment Team at Lupton Fawcett.