New statutory Code of Practice to tackle sexual harassment at work
04 January 2019
A package of 12 announcements has been launched by government to tackle sexual harassment at work, including consultations on legal protections and on additional protections for volunteers and interns.
ComRes, in their 2017 research for the BBC, claim that 40% of women (and 18% of men) have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour at work at some point.
Minister for Women Victoria Atkins said:
“Sexual harassment at work is illegal, but sadly that disgusting behaviour is something that many women still experience today. We are taking action to make sure employers know what they have to do to protect their staff, and people know their rights at work and what action to take if they feel intimidated or humiliated. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work.”
Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said:
“It continues to disappoint me that in this day and age some women still face discrimination and harassment at work. One part of this is the minority of cases where non-disclosure agreements are used unethically, and employees may not be aware of their protections and rights. We will be consulting on these.”
The government has announced that it will:
- Introduce a new statutory code of practice on sexual harassment, which will be developed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission under its Equality Act 2006 powers
- Run awareness raising work with Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), Equality and Human Rights Committee (EHRC) and employers
- Commission a survey to gather regular data on the prevalence of sexual harassment
- Consult on non-disclosure agreements
- Consult on the evidence base for a new legal duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace
- Consult on strengthening and clarifying the laws on third party harassment in the workplace
- Consult on whether further legal protections are required for interns and volunteers
- Consult to explore the evidence for extending employment tribunal time limits for Equality Act 2010 cases
- Ensure the public sector takes action to tackle and prevent sexual harassment
- Work with regulators for whom sexual harassment is particularly relevant to ensure they are taking appropriate action
- Consider whether further learnings can be taken from the criminal justice system to use in the employment tribunal system, to ensure vulnerable claimants have appropriate protection
- Check that the list of organisations who can receive ‘whistleblowing’ information includes the right bodies.