Four out of five charities were “concerned” about new rules on third-party sexual harassment

Four in five charities say they are concerned about an impending change to their legal duty as employers to protect workers from sexual harassment by third parties, including customers, donors, contractors and suppliers.

The updated duty will be introduced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) later this month when the Worker Protection Act 2023 comes into force.

While employers’ obligation to protect employees from sexual harassment by third parties was removed from the legislation during its passage by the previous Parliament, this obligation is included in the EHRC’s technical guidance.

The survey included the views of 173 charities and was carried out by employment consultancy WorkNest.

“Failure to take appropriate measures to prevent sexual harassment by third parties constitutes a breach of the duty of prevention,” warns Lona Gemmell, HR training manager and lawyer at Worknest.

To comply, she advises charities to “implement a zero-tolerance policy and take proactive measures to reduce the risk of sexual harassment from third parties.”

“Depending on the work environment, this could include signage, procedures for ejecting and banning customers, and personal safety training for staff,” she added.

“Organizations should also encourage employees to report incidents and have a clear plan in place for dealing with third-party harassment incidents.”

Across industries, only a third of organizations have the legal changes “on their radar”. Less than 1% say they are fully compliant.