Essential Steps to Navigate New UK Employment Laws: Preventing Workplace Sexual Harassment

Essential Steps to Navigate New UK Employment Laws: Preventing Workplace Sexual Harassment

Although the UK Government has recently announced its intention to make sweeping reforms to employment law, one recent important change has already come into effect: the duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. 

We now have some guidance, which we have been reviewing, and while we do not have a definitive list of what you must do, our view is that there are certain key steps you should take without delay. 

As a client or contact of Kilgannon & Partners, we are here to support you with addressing areas of potential risk and ensuring compliance. We have also teamed up with our sister company, www.strategichr.co.uk and between us, we can help with the following (and more, should you receive a complaint): 

1. Undertake a risk assessment

An HR Consultant can attend to undertake an assessment of the potential risks. This includes looking at how you operate to identity areas/issues that could carry potential risk of sexual harassment happening; whether from power imbalances, to events your staff attend, especially those involving alcohol. 

Following the risk assessment, your dedicated HR Consultant will explore ways in which these areas of risk can be mitigated, while appreciating the nature of your business, and will partner with you through implementation. 

2. Update your policies and procedures

The agreed outcomes you implement should be reflected in your policies and procedures, which your dedicated Solicitor can update (with no extra charge for those who subscribe to our fixed-fee services).

3. Train all staff

The risks identified and measures taken can then form the basis of bespoke HR training from Strategic HR, and which can be further tailored when training managers, all staff and/or HR teams. 

4. Use a confidential and independent third-party reporting service

Lastly, you can subscribe to the confidential reporting service Whisper; allowing your staff to have access to a confidential (and if they want, anonymous) safe space where they can discuss any sexual harassment issues and agree what is to be reported to you on their behalf.

If any of these services are of interest to you, please do not hesitate to get in touch: hi@strategichr.co.uk