Government Response to Consultation on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
The Government has pledged to introduce a new duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment and third-party harassment in the workplace and to consider extending the time limit for all claims under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010).
The Government’s consultation ran from July to October 2019 and was undertaken in response to recent public disclosures relating to mainly women's experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace. The consultation included a public questionnaire of which 54% of the total respondents, 62% of whom were women, said they had experienced harassment at work while 36% said they had not.
What Is the Government's Response to the Consultation?
In response, the Government has pledged to:
- introduce a new duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace "as soon as" parliamentary time allows, with a defence available if employers can show they have taken “all reasonable steps” to prevent the harassment from taking place
- discuss scope for further strategic enforcement action by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and support the EHRC to develop a new statutory code of practice on sexual harassment in the workplace which will be complemented by accessible, practical guidance for employers
- introduce workplace protections against third-party harassment with a defence available if employers can show they have taken “all reasonable steps” to prevent the third-party harassment from taking place
- look closely at extending the time limit for all claims under the EqA 2010 to six months while bearing in mind the current pressures on the employment tribunal service
The Government decided not to extend protection under the EqA 2010 to volunteers (both paid and unpaid interns are protected due to being likely to qualify as workers), on the basis that extending the protection to them may create a disproportionate level of liability and difficulties for the organisation which outweighs the service they provide. However, as a matter of good practice, the Government confirmed that it expects all responsible employers to have an effective anti-harassment policy covering all staff (including agency workers, consultants, volunteers and interns), not just employees.
Comment
The Government's consultation response is welcomed in the wake of the #MeToo movement which raised awareness of issues relating to sexual harassment in the workplace. Both the duty to prevent sexual harassment and third-party harassment in the workplace has however not been given an implementation date and will be introduced "as soon as" and "when parliamentary time allows'' respectively. No timescales have also been provided for the publication of the EHRC's statutory code of practice and associated guidance, or for the commitment to "look closely" at extending time limits for cases under the EqA 2010. Therefore, it is unlikely that there will be a swift change in the law in these areas but we will keep you updated on any further developments.