Calls to hold employers increasingly liable for sexual harassment in the workplace are getting ever louder.

Last week, TUC (the Trades Union Congress) in alliance with other bodies, launched a petition under the hashtag #ThisIsNotWorking. The petition demands the creation of a law to require employers to take all reasonable steps to protect workers from sexual harassment and victimisation.

Employers are already liable for acts of harassment carried out by their employees in the course of their employment, unless the employer can show they’ve taken ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent their employees from acting unlawfully. However, there is currently no duty on employers to take proactive action to prevent sexual harassment from happening in the first place.

The campaign goes on to demand compulsory guidance to explain what employers must do to prevent harassment, the ability for victims to report sexual harassment to a regulator, and consequences for non-compliant employers.

The alliance, which includes Action Aid, Amnesty International UK, Stonewall and Times UP UK, has gathered over 10,000 signatures on the petition to date.

The petition comes almost a year after the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee (the Committee) called for the government to put sexual harassment on the top of the agenda. TUC’s petition mirrors some of the Committee’s recommendations, including a call for the government to place a mandatory duty on employers to protect workers from harassment and victimisation in the workplace, with any breaches being enforceable by the Committee and carrying substantial fines.

In December, we wrote about the government’s response to the Committee’s findings. Although the government agreed with a number of the findings, it had faced criticism for not acting  – although it has agreed to consult on the proposals, and to introduce a new statutory code of practice on sexual harassment, nothing has been forthcoming. In June, the Committee’s report into NDAs in cases of harassment and discrimination was published, and the government will also have to consider and respond to those recommendations.

While the government is concerned with other matters, public pressure could force it to consider sexual harassment in the workplace earlier than it had hoped. In the meantime, employers should take steps now to address the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace – and indeed all other forms of harassment, given the serious impact on staff, not to mention the brand and reputational risk. For advice on how best to do this, please contact us.

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