From Saturday 26th October 2024, employers are under a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment.
An employer is unlikely to be able to comply with the preventative duty unless it completes a risk assessment to identify risks and the control measures required to minimise those risks. So, how do you do it?
Factors
Identify the factors in your organisation that may create a risk of sexual harassment. These may include:
- Power imbalances
- Job insecurity, for example zero-hours contracts, agency staff or contractors
- Lone working and night working
- Out-of-hours working
- The presence of alcohol
- Customer-facing duties
- Attending events outside of the usual working environment, for example, training, conferences or work-related social events
- Socialising outside work
- Social media contact between workers
- The workforce demographic, for example, the risk of sexual harassment may be higher in a predominantly male workforce
Who and why?
Identify who in your business may be at risk of being sexually harassed and the reason for that risk.
Lone workers may face increased risks of sexual harassment owing to limited supervision or support.
Junior workers may be at greater risk of experiencing sexual harassment because power imbalances can create opportunities for exploitation. These employees may be reluctant to complain because they may fear being victimised.
Workers attending work-related social events may be more vulnerable to sexual harassment. Alcohol can impair judgement and lower inhibitions, potentially leading people to misbehave.
Customer-facing workers may be more vulnerable to sexual harassment owing to their more frequent interactions with people outside your business.
Women and those from underrepresented backgrounds may feel marginalised if your leadership and managers lack diversity. The power imbalance may make them more susceptible to sexual harassment and less empowered to speak up owing to fear of retaliation.
A workplace culture that tolerates inappropriate behaviour and stereotypical views where employees are not treated with dignity and respect may make staff more vulnerable to sexual harassment.
Assessing the risk
Once you have identified the risk factors and who may be vulnerable, how should you assess the risk?
Interview lone workers. Review complaints of sexual harassment (formal and informal) over a specified time so that you have a metric that will allow you to track progress. Identify what proportion happened when people were working alone.
Interview junior workers. Review sexual harassment complaints over a specified time. Identify what proportion of complaints involved an imbalance of power.
Presence of alcohol: interview workers who attend work-related social events to identify concerns. Analyse all reported incidents over a specified time to determine how often alcohol was a factor.
Interview customer-facing workers and analyse all reported incidents over a specified time. Determine what proportion involved third parties.
Diversity: review the demographics of people in senior leadership and managerial roles. Does it reveal a lack of diversity?
Workplace culture. Consider an anonymous survey so staff members can tell you whether your workplace culture has made them vulnerable to sexual harassment. Encourage them to tell you whether they’ve experienced or witnessed sexual harassment, whether they reported it and if not, why not.
Steps taken to reduce the risk
Record what you have done to reduce the risk of sexual harassment. Refer to your policies and training, as applicable, on:
- Alcohol
- Anti-bullying
- Anti-harassment
- Diversity
- Sexual harassment
- Third parties
- Work-related social events
Accessible
Record whether all your staff can access your policies digitally via your intranet and in hard copy. Refer to any staff notices.
Examples
Your policies should include clear examples of what constitutes sexual harassment.
Reporting
Highlight your multi-channel reporting procedure. Mention if people can complain by telephone, online or anonymously rather than using your formal grievance procedure. Point out how your workers can safely complain, including complaining about those in senior positions and third parties. Explain how you protect those who are worried about the ramifications of reporting.
Standards
Identify where you have set the standard of behaviour you expect in your workplace, at work-related social events and work-related social media groups. Point out where you have said your business will not tolerate discrimination, bullying, or harassment.
Diversity
Point to your equality, diversity, and inclusion policy (EDI). Repeat its principles.
Workplace culture
Highlight your support system for those affected by sexual harassment, including access to an employee assistance program, workplace mediation, and counselling.
What will you do next?
Explain how you will build upon the work you have already done to comply with your legal duty and prevent your workers from being sexually harassed by colleagues, clients, contractors or anyone else they encounter while working for you.
Lone Working
- Speak to your lone workers regularly to ensure their well-being and spot any problems.
- Implement panic buttons or CCTV cameras to deter would-be harassers and make your workers feel secure.
- Reduce the occasions and length of time that people work alone with customers.
- Train and encourage your workers to spot, prevent and report sexual harassment as victims or witnesses.
Imbalance of power
- Train your workers on how an imbalance of power can contribute to sexual harassment. Encourage them to be active bystanders and report any wrongdoing that they see.
- Train your managers on the dangers of abusing their power and their vital role in preventing sexual harassment.
- Train your managers to handle complex cases involving power imbalances while remaining impartial and avoiding conflicts of interest.
Presence of alcohol
- Remind people of your guidelines for behaving appropriately at work-related social events and staying safe.
- Arrange appropriate supervision and staffing levels to monitor and address any potential incidents of sexual harassment promptly at your events.
- Designate specific staff members as contact points for people to report concerns or get help.
- Ensure people get home safely.
Third parties
- Train your workers on handling difficult interactions with third parties. This should include showing them how to remain professional while setting clear boundaries and de-escalating or removing themselves from difficult situations.
- Provide additional training for managers to support workers who have been subjected to harassment by a third party.
- Ensure that your organisation’s zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment is communicated to third parties via email and notices displayed in public workplace areas if the risk is significant.
Diversity
- Provide regular EDI training to senior leaders and managers, including on microaggressions and unconscious bias.
- Hold EDI events and workshops through employee resource groups. Attending will help people empathise with their colleagues’ challenges.
- Encourage job applications for senior leadership and managerial roles from as diverse a range of people as possible.
Workplace Culture
- Establish clear policies. Ensure that you have clear and comprehensive policies against sexual harassment. These policies should define what constitutes harassment, outline reporting procedures, and specify consequences for violations.
- Regularly review and update your policies. They should be living, breathing documents that change with your organisation, sector, and legislation. Review and update them regularly to ensure they are up-to-date and aligned with best practices and legal requirements.
- Training. Make sure everyone understands what behaviour is unacceptable and how to report incidents.
- Promote open communication. Encourage open communication channels where employees feel comfortable reporting any incidents of harassment. Ensure confidentiality and non-retaliation for those who come forward.
- Lead by example. Senior leaders and managers should lead by example by promoting a culture of respect and zero tolerance for harassment. Their behaviour sets the tone for the entire organisation.
- Support victims. Provide support and resources for employees who experience harassment. Offer counselling, legal advice, and other forms of assistance as needed.
- Promote EDI. Embrace EDI in the workplace to create a culture of respect for all individuals, regardless of gender, race, or background.
- Celebrate positive behaviour. Recognise and reward positive behaviour, contributing to a respectful and inclusive workplace culture. This can help reinforce the desired values.
- Conduct anonymous surveys. Conduct anonymous surveys regularly to gather feedback from employees about your workplace culture, including issues related to harassment. Use this feedback to make improvements.
- Hold perpetrators accountable. Act swiftly and appropriately against individuals found guilty of harassment. Show you take such behaviour seriously and will not tolerate it.
Remember to appoint a designated lead who will take responsibility for implementing your actions and recording what they will do, why, and when.
