We note that the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Amendment) Bill proposes to expand employers’ health and safety duties, under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, to include preventing workplace harassment. As it currently stands the Act requires employers to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of employees as far as reasonably practicable.
The proposed Bill, scheduled for a second reading on 7 March 2025, would add specific obligations to address violence and harassment in the workplace, with a focus on sexual harassment. This is line with recent legal developments on workplace protections relating to the prevention of sexual harassment within the workplace and employee protection.
The Bill identifies harassment examples such as sex-based violence (not gender as stated), sexual harassment, stalking, and psychological abuse. If the Bill is passed, employers would additionally be required to:
- Conduct risk assessments to identify potential harassment risks;
- Implement policies and procedures to eliminate these risks;
- Provide employee training on recognising and preventing harassment.
The provisions largely overlap with, and codify, what employers should already be doing to meet their pro-active obligation to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace under Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023.
The difference here comes in the enforcement mechanisms in the event of any breach. If the Bill becomes law (which is a fairly big ‘if’), then employers in breach could face enforcement action by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) including criminal liability and unlimited fines (rather than the uplifts to tribunal awards and enforcement action by Equality and Human Rights Commission found under the 2023 Act). There is a wider scope for liability with further risks proposed for employers who do not comply.
Please be aware that Private Members’ Bills rarely become law, so this Bill will probably never become law. At present there is no need to get too excited but let’s watch this space.
This blog was written by Elizabeth McGlone, Partner at didlaw.
