EHRC business plan highlights continued focus on sexual harassment
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published its 2024/2025 business plan. This offers an interesting insight into key areas of strategic focus in the immediate future.
Business plan
The 2024-2025 year is the final year of delivery against the EHRC's current strategic plan. The recently published business plan explains how the EHRC will focus on achieving its strategic goals over the next year. It identifies priority themes, including those set out below.
Tackling sexual harassment in the workplace
The EHRC will lead a campaign to prepare employers for the new duty to prevent sexual harassment, which is due to come into force in October 2024. The EHRC says it will also consider where regulatory action needs to be taken to tackle breaches when new regulations come into place.
Regulating artificial intelligence and tackling digital exclusion
The EHRC has committed to continuing to develop its approach to regulation in the AI space. In an employment context, there is a particular focus on the use of AI in recruitment practices and addressing bias in AI systems.
Challenging serious or systemic breaches of the law
The EHRC has confirmed it will continue to challenge serious or systemic breaches of law, including workplace discrimination and human rights breaches, pay disparity for different protected characteristic groups, and discrimination relating to COVID-19 and the post-pandemic economy.
Comment
The EHRC business plan provides a useful insight into the key areas where employers may wish to focus attention to ensure they comply with anti-discrimination law and best practice. In respect of the upcoming duty to prevent sexual harassment, the EHRC has confirmed separately that it plans to update its existing technical guidance in September 2024.