The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill has now received Royal Assent to become The Worker Protection (Equality Act) 2023. 

The Act introduces a new duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees and also grants Employment Tribunals a power to increase compensation by up to 25% where an employer is found to have breached the new duty to prevent sexual harassment.

Whilst the new legislation will be heralded by many, some commentators remain disappointed as the Bill originally had provided that an employer would have to take ‘all’ reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of employment. However, the Bill was ultimately amended as a result of House of Lords intervention to require that employers must take ‘reasonable steps’, rather than ‘all reasonable steps’, to protect employees from sexual harassment. 

Furthermore, the Lords objected to the re-introduction of an employer’s liability for the harassment of employees by third parties in the course of employment (which was repealed in 2013).

The Act will not come into force until one year after the day on which it was passed, so as to give all employers a year to review, consider and prepare for their new legal duty.  Many employers will of course already take the view that they take reasonable steps (if not all reasonable steps!) to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and that this new duty does little to change their position - but many employers will no doubt want to take the next year to ensure that they have the best possible training, processes and policies in place.