Introduction
If your charity employs staff please read this guidance to familiarise yourself with the new legal duty placed on all employers, regardless of the size of your organisation or the nature of your work, to proactively take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
This article provides:
- A summary of the change in law
- What actions the trustees will need to take as an employing organisation
- Further resources
- Support for your organisation
1. A Summary of the change in law
It has long been established in employment law that employers can be held liable for discriminatory actions of their employees under the principle of ‘vicarious liability’. This includes for harassment and sexual harassment. Until recently employers could demonstrate a defence by proving they had taken all reasonable steps to prevent this.
The Worker Protection (Amendment of the Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into force on 26 October 2024 and now places an active duty on an employer to have taken reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, which includes that from third parties, such as service users or individuals from partner organisations.
Failure to comply with this change in the law may mean a 25% uplift in compensation when an employee brings a case to Employment Tribunal. Please see the resources section below.
2. What actions do trustees of charities need to take?
If your charity or community group employs staff, then the trustees are employers in law. This means that they will need to actively take the following steps in the same way as any other employer.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has produced two pieces of guidance listed below in section 3. In a nutshell, this outlines eight key steps that an employer must take in relation to preventing sexual harassment in the workplace:
- Develop (and update) an effective Anti-Harassment Policy
- Engage your staff
- Risk assess and take steps to reduce those risks
- Reporting of sexual harassment
- Training staff
- What to do when a sexual harassment claim is made
- Dealing with sexual harassment from third parties
- Monitor and evaluate your actions
It is not a one-size fits all approach but each organisation must assess and take steps that are reasonable in their own case. Guidance on what is considered reasonable can be found in the resources below. Any approach should not be a one-time action but instead look to embed prevention within your charity, such as ensuring it is easy to report, training is regularly refreshed and understanding is checked.
3. Further resources
- EHRC – Employer 8-Step Guide to preventing Sexual Harassment at work
- EHRC – detailed guidance on Sexual Harassment and harassment at work
- WorkNest: Guidance: New Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
- WorkNest: Checklist for preventing Sexual Harassment
- WorkNest: FAQ’s re the new duty
- Free on demand webinar courtesy of WorkNest (you will need to register with them to watch this. This webinar is appropriate for managers and trustees).
- Paid for e-learning through iHASCO – 20 minutes with a test at the end. Find cost information here. You can also request a free trial to check it is appropriate for your needs. This elearning could be used for staff, volunteers and trustees to refresh their knowledge on sexual harassment. You could enhance this with further information about your organisational context in team meetings or 1:1’s.
4. Further support or confidential advice for voluntary and community organisations
- Voluntary and community organisations delivering services in Reading can access free, confidential advice and support from the RVA Advice Service by contacting advice@rva.org.uk
- RVA Safe and Sound Good Governance Award
- If you are an individual seeking advice about your own employment situation, please contact ACAS or other providers such as Citizen’s Advice Reading.