EHRC guidance on dealing with harassment

[ch 12: page 239]

Guidance on sexual harassment from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) explains employers’ legal responsibilities and the practical steps they should take to prevent and respond to harassment and victimisation at work. It also provides advice for workers to help them understand the law and their employer’s obligations to prevent harassment and victimisation, or to respond to their complaint.

Sexual harassment and harassment at work: technical guidance provides employment tribunals and courts with clear direction on the law and best-practice steps that employers could take to prevent and deal with harassment and victimisation. It is expected to become a statutory code of practice in due course.

The EHRC also set out seven steps every employer should consider taking to ensure they are doing all they can to prevent and deal with sexual harassment in the workplace:

(1) Develop an effective anti-harassment policy

(2) Engage staff with regular one-to-ones and have an open-door policy

(3) Assess and mitigate risks in the workplace

(4) Consider using a reporting system that allows workers to raise an issue anonymously or in name

(5) Train staff on what sexual harassment in the workplace looks like, what to do if workers experience it and how to handle complaints

(6) Act immediately when a harassment complaint is made

(7) Treat harassment by a third-party just as seriously as that by a colleague