On October 26th the Worker Protection Act (WPA) will come into force, and this has implications for every business in England, Scotland and Wales. An amendment to the 2010 Equality Act, the WPA aims to better protect employees from sexual harassment; employers in the UK will now have a legal duty to work preventatively, rather than retrospectively, to address sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Act ensures that employers “must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.” This extends to when employees are working outside of their office, and when they are attending social events that are considered an extension of work. Employers who fail to prevent sexual harassment towards an employee can also face financial repercussions. If a claim of sexual harassment is upheld, an employee may be awarded up to 25% compensation uplift from the employer.

Recently, we’ve been running WPA Discussion Forums for our customers, so they can come together to discuss what actions they should be taking. These Forums include a slot with the legal experts from Porter Dodson LLP - many thanks to Kate Shawcross and Sarah Young! Kate and Sarah both stressed the need for organisational ED&I policies to be kept up to date, and that all staff should understand what ‘conduct of a sexual nature’ entails. Most importantly, they stressed the need for repeated training for leadership teams and managers at all levels, as the organisational culture is often set top-down and role-modelling behaviours is critical.