Employers to be made responsible for protecting staff from harassment at work in landmark post-MeToo proposals

Employers will be made responsible for protecting staff from being harassed at work in what has been described as the first significant win in the wake of the #MeToo campaign around sexual assault.

The Government has set out plans for a crackdown on sexual harassment and violence against women, which included a push for “behavioural change” to challenge misogyny in society, specialist police and the possibility of laws criminalising street harassment.

Coinciding with the Home Office unveiling its violence against women strategy, the Government Equalities Office published its response to a 2018 consolation on all forms of workplace harassment – including sexual harassment.

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It said it intends to introduce a specific duty which puts the onus on employers to prevent sexual harassment as well as measures to ensure employees have adequate legal protections when making a complaint of harassment.

This includes the introduction of a new proactive duty on employers requiring them to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent their employees from experiencing sexual harassment.

Explicit protections will be brought in to shield employees from harassment by third parties (for example, customers or clients).

And the Government will consider whether to extend the time limit for bringing Equality Act 2010 based cases to the Employment Tribunal from three months to six months.

The announcement marks a huge win for campaigners who have been calling for more responsibility to be put on employers since the #MeToo movement exposed how rife workplace harassment and assault was.

It comes as a Government survey found nearly three-quarters of the UK population (72 per cent) have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime. Almost a fifth (18 per cent) said they experienced harassment daily, and 21 per cent said it occurred on a weekly basis.

Sexual Harassment lawyer and at Rights of Women Deeba Syed tweeted: “This is one of the first key statutory changes in the UK to happen since the #MeToo movement.

“It will empower survivors to expect more from their employers and will force employers to take more responsible for violence against women happening on their watch.”

The Trades Union Congress said the announcement was “a victory for years of trade union campaigning“.

General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Employers must now protect their workers from all forms of harassment by customers and clients as well as from colleagues.

“This will help stamp out sexual harassment of women workers, and racist and homophobic abuse too. And it will make all public-facing workplaces safer – from shops to surgeries, salons to showrooms.

“If this is to be a genuine turning point, the government must change the law swiftly, put more resources into enforcing the new duties, and make sure victims have access to justice.”

Labour called on the Government to collect more data around sexual harassment in the workplace and accused it of “dragging its heels” during the two years it took to respond to the consultation.

Marsha de Cordova MP, Labour’s shadow Women and Equalities Secretary, said: “We cannot end this injustice without understanding the extent of it. That is why Labour is calling on the government to collect data on employment tribunals brought on the basis of sexual harassment.”