The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2020) Act 2023 comes into force on 26 October 2024, introducing a new legal obligation on UK employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment at work. In this month’s alert, we look at practical steps employers can take to comply with the new duty.

We also recap the key employment law changes announced on 10 October 2024, with some actions points for employers to think about while the details of these measures are ironed out through parliamentary debate and public consultation. Employers can submit any responses to the Employment Bill consultations, please see the following links: Zero-Hour Contracts Consultation; Fire & Rehire and Strengthened Collective Redundancy Rights Consultation; Statutory Sick Pay Consultation; and Trade Union Consultation. All consultations are due to close on 2 December 2024.

How is the law on sexual harassment changing?

Before this change, employers were under no proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment, although if an incident occurred, an employer would potentially be vicariously liable unless it could show it took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

The #MeToo movement made it clear that existing laws with after-the-event liability were not enough and that more is needed to drive lasting cultural change.

To avoid liability going forward, an employer will need to show it proactively took ‘reasonable steps’. It is an anticipatory duty requiring preventative action. What...

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