Many of the City of London’s HR and Security Teams will already be aware of this new piece of legislation, but as part of the City of London Police’s commitment to tackling sexual violence and harassment in all its forms, and keeping those who work in the City safe, I wanted to bring this to your attention.
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 comes into force in the UK on 26th October 2024. This new legislation aims to better protect employees from sexual harassment within the workplace by creating a ‘preventative duty’. It imposes a new duty upon employers to take ‘reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment’. This proactive duty on employers is intended to lead to a cultural change and encourages organisations to ensure that their workplace policies and best practice procedures work for all members of staff and put employee safety first.
The Act also provides a tribunal with the ability to impose a ‘compensation uplift’ award (up to 25%) to an employee if it is satisfied that an employer has contravened the legislation.
The new legislation will now place an increased burden of proof upon employers to demonstrate what they have done to tackle sexual harassment within their organisation.
