Sexual harassment cases may soar in light of extended regulations - here's what employers need to know

You know how it is with the law – you just get used to one set of stipulations and it’s all change once more. This time it’s the turn of sexual harassment regulations and quite rightly they have moved in favour of the employee garnering deeper protection – our experts outline what this means for HR and employers.

We need not list the scroll of celebrities that have had their names tainted and embroiled in sexual harassment cases of late. That’s just those that hit the news and sadly for many victims it’s a matter of less media notoriety for their individual cases while being as equally devastating for the victims albeit out of the public eye.

The changes that are afoot

Changes have now been triggered which is for the good. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (WPA 2023) became binding on employers, as of 26 October 2024. This places a new mandatory duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. It’s an important change and one organisations need to be aware of because it essentially changes the burden onto employers. Whereas previously they might have been reactive to cases of sexual harassment, now they must proactively identify risks of sexual harassment and take steps to mitigate these, before any such act happens.