Government’s Employment Rights Act requires employers to take ALL reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees whilst at work.
Current legislation requires employers to take “reasonable steps”, the Employment Rights Bill aims to change this to “all reasonable steps”
It doesn’t sound that different BUT is a significantly higher benchmark.
In the event of tribunal employers will need to be able to evidence that there was absolutely nothing more they could have done to prevent the abuse.
At present having policies and procedures in place could be deemed reasonable. To reach the higher bar employers will, as a minimum need to ensure
- policies and procedures are reviewed and updated. regularly and after any occurrence.
- staff receive annual training and regular reminders, for example through payslips, newsletters, posters.
- employee representation groups are in place and they include representatives from minority groups
- every incident or report is fully investigated and processes tightened to prevent recurrence
- robust investigation procedures are in place
- those tasked with investigation have been trained in robust approach and practice
- all those involved understand the importance of defensible documentation
Concrew Training offer a range of courses on preventing sexual harassment at work. We cover everything from developing policies and procedures to training investigators, managers and staff. Buying training and support from us is way way cheaper than the costs associated with incidents and tribunals and helps evidence that all reasonable steps have been taken.
In the event of tribunal employers need to ensure that there is absolutely nothing more they could have done.