The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have introduced a checklist and action plan to assist employers in complying with the new proactive duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment. The EHRC emphasises that policies and procedures alone are insufficient to prevent sexual harassment from happening in the workplace and encourages employers to take tangible steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The checklist and action plan can be adapted to suit different workplaces.

The checklist includes three main areas for employers to consider:

• clear communication with staff, promoting a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment
• controlling both the physical and social environment to enhance safety
• implementing robust working practices, identifying when sexual harassment takes place and making staff aware of how to effectively deal with it

Once an employer has worked through the checklist, the EHRC encourages employers to record actions to be taken and to also regularly complete monitoring logs recording the effect of the employer’s actions.

Failure to comply with the duty to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment can result in an Employment Tribunal uplifting an employee’s compensatory award in a discrimination claim by up to 25%. The EHRC also has the power to investigate and take enforcement action. The checklist and action plan is therefore a useful starting point to assist employers in taking a proactive approach to tackling sexual harassment at work and will be a valuable tool in demonstrating that an employer has turned its mind to proactively complying with its duty to prevent such harassment taking place.