The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023

This Act establishes a new legal duty for employers to take reasonable steps to protect employees in the course of their employment from sexual harassment.

The aim of the Act’s preventive duty to is require employers to be proactive in identifying risks and taking concrete steps to prevent sexual harassment, rather than seeking to address harassment in a reactive way.

Reasonable steps can include:

• developing and maintaining an effective anti-harassment policy;
• ensuring people managers have the skills and confidence to set a positive culture and to challenge problem behaviour;
• implementing effective training, tailored to each specific workplace; and
• assessing risks and ensuring lines of reporting and compliant are developed and clear.

Where an employee succeeds in claim of sexual harassment at Tribunal, the new Act introduces an uplift on any award they receive of up to 25% where the employer is found not to have taken reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.