Worker Protection Act 2023 comes into force

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into force on 26th October 2024.

The law applies to all employers regardless of their size or sector and introduces a new positive legal obligation on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to protect their workers from sexual harassment.

While the law does define ‘reasonable steps’ the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have updated their guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work to reflect the new duty and explain the legal obligations of employers. The guidance:

• Helps employers to understand their legal responsibilities in relation to harassment and victimisation.
• Explains the steps employers should take to prevent harassment and victimisation at work and what they should do if harassment or victimisation occurs.
• Helps employers to understand their positive legal obligations in relation to the preventative duty and the steps they must take to prevent sexual harassment at work.
• Helps workers to understand the law and what their employer should do to prevent harassment and victimisation, or to respond to their complaint of harassment or victimisation.
• Gives employment tribunals and courts clear guidance on the law on harassment and victimisation, the legal scope of the preventative duty and best practice on the steps that employers could take to prevent and deal with harassment and victimisation.
• Uses examples to illustrate some of the practical steps employers of different sizes and types can take to eliminate harassment in the workplace.

If an employer breaches the law, the EHRC will have the power to take enforcement action against the employer. Employment tribunals will also have the power to increase compensation for sexual harassment by up to 25%.

Guidance from the EHRC is here. Acas have an advice page on sexual harassment, including advice on creating a sexual harassment policy for employers. The Acas advice page is here.