On the 26th October 2024, the Worker Protection Act introduced enhanced protections against harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace.
They created a new anticipatory obligation on employers to prevent it before it happened, or potentially face punishment at a tribunal. But despite earlier intention, the new law stopped short of including third-party harassment in its remit, e.g. customers, suppliers etc.
One of the many things the new Employment Rights Bill will do is include this in your responsibilities.
Once implemented, you’ll be at risk of facing tribunals for third-party harassment – and are required to take ongoing action to prevent it from happening. If a tribunal finds you didn’t take “all reasonable steps” to prevent third-party harassment, compensation awarded against you could be uplifted by 25%.
It’s worth noting these changes apply to all harassment, not just sexual. According to the Equality Act 2010, harassment is any unwanted, violating or offensive conduct related to a protected characteristic. Sexual harassment is similarly defined, wherein the unwanted conduct is of a sexual nature.
How the third-party harassment laws will impact your business
Even if third-party harassment hasn’t occurred, you’re still required to take all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening. You’re expected to anticipate harassment risks and act ahead of them.
Your sector or the frequency of third-party interactions in your workplace doesn’t matter in the eyes of these new regulations: you’ll still be at risk of prosecution if a tribunal found there was more you reasonably could have done to prevent harassment.
The Equality Human Rights Commission (EHRC) provides technical guidance, but it is up to you to apply it to your business appropriately, so professional advice is recommended.
How to prepare for the third-party harassment laws
The new regulations make your preventative duty very clear, but how exactly do you take “all reasonable steps” to prevent third-party harassment?
Conduct a risk assessment
The guidance on preventative duty is vague, likely because the circumstances for potential third-party harassment vary across every business. Conducting a thorough risk assessment is a useful way to identify risks – and also a requirement to comply with your preventative duty. There are several risk factors to consider; including interactions with third parties, power imbalances, lone and night working or any circumstances where staff may be attending social events outside of work.
It’s also worth engaging with your staff during a risk assessment: your workforce hold an abundance of valuable information to feedback and may have a greater insight of prospective risks you’re unaware of.
Develop an anti-harassment policy
If you don’t already have one, you should develop an anti-harassment policy. This should be clearly communicated and made accessible to staff across your business, but also any third parties: clients or suppliers.
Drafting robust third-party commercial terms is a useful tool. If you have the bargaining power, you should require third parties to maintain an up-to-date anti-harassment policy that aligns with your own and ensure regular training of their staff. This protects you and your staff whilst promoting the positive impression that your company holds a strong standard.
Educate your staff
Although the regulations refer to third-party harassment, you’ll still need to train your staff to prevent, or if necessary, handle it. You should have training in place for management to understand how to challenge inappropriate behaviours – and how they can support staff if they occur. Meanwhile, your staff should be trained to understand what harassment actually is and how they can access support.
Get support
You’ll want to stay ahead of the game by incorporating best practices as soon as possible: especially in regards to preventative duty. We understand that the existing guidance is vague at best, and headache inducing at worst.
Whether you’re seeking further clarity on the Employment Rights Bill, or need help implementing changes to align with regulations: get in touch today to see how we can help you with our extensive range of specialised services – from training to tribunal support.
