'Endemic' | Unions warn ministers to not backtrack on sexual harassment bill

In a joint letter, unions and groups have warned the Government to not backtrack on plans to implement legislation forcing employers to protect their workers from sexual harassment.

The Worker Protection Bill would introduce a legal duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment from clients and customers in the workplace, which they have described as “endemic” across UK sectors.

But ministers are reportedly planning to drop the Bill after objections from Conservative backbenchers who have claimed it would force business owners to run their company like a “police state.”

In the letter addressed to the Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, groups such as the TUC, Fawcett Society, Amnesty International and Pregnant Then Screwed expressed their concern around ministers going back on promises to instate the The Worker Protection Bill, saying that sexual harassment disproportionately impacts marginalised groups in society.