Discrimination

As from 26 October 2024, all employers are subject to the preventative duty in s40A of the Equality Act 2010. This duty requires all employees to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

The ERB will amend s40A and include the word ‘all’ so employers will need to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment – a higher requirement than just reasonable steps.

This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not been given. Regulations are promised to provide guidance as to what ‘all reasonable steps’ entails.

Employers are not liable under the Equality Act 2010 for the harassment of their employees by third parties.

The ERB will introduce a new s40 (1A) – (1C) to the Equality Act which will extend that liability so that employers will be liable for any third party harassment occurring during the course of employment. This harassment is not limited to sexual harassment but addresses all harassment under the Equality Act.

This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not been given and the Government have not indicated whether they intend to consult on these changes.

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, a qualifying disclosure must relate one of the issues outlined in s43B (1) which includes criminal offence, failure to comply with legal obligation, health and safety issues etc.

The ERB adds to this list so that a disclosure to a relevant person that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur will be a protected qualifying disclosure. The person making the disclosure will then have all the protections currently provided under our whistleblowing protections and legislation.

This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not been given and the Government have not indicated whether they intend to consult on these changes.

Employers with over 250 employees are required to publish gender pay gap figures each year and this is enforced by the Employment and Human Rights Commission.

The ERB amends the Equality Act 2010 so that regulations will be introduced whereby employers with over 250 employees will be required to further publish an Equality Action Plan. Matters that must be covered are issues such as addressing the gender pay gap, supporting employees going through menopause. The regulations will outline what the plan should contain, the form and way it is to be published, when and how frequently it is to be published (no more frequently than every 12 months), how senior management is to agree it and how employers, employees and organisations are to be described.

No date has been set and we await regulations to provide more details.

Employers with over 250 employees do not have to include contract workers in their gender gap reporting statistics.

The ERB will amend the Equality Act 2010 so that those employers will have to identify the providers of contract workers in this report – no further information is needed beyond that identify.

We await draft regulations on this extension of the gender pay gap reporting so unlikely anything will be in place for April 2025 when the next reporting deadline is in place.