After being found by an employment tribunal to have failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of an employee, a prominent retailer has now signed a legal agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Under the Equality Act 2010, employers are legally responsible if an employee is sexually harassed at work by a colleague, and the employer has not taken all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening. Since October 2024, employers have also been under a proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
The agreement, known as a ‘section 23 agreement’ which can legally be enforced by the EHRC via court action, sets out the retailer's commitment to:
- Run a staff survey relating to sexual harassment within the workplace and assess if additional preventative steps are necessary
- Develop a system to monitor and analyse informal complaints of sexual harassment to identify ongoing risks and whether additional preventative steps are required
- Monitor the effectiveness of complaint handling for new formal complaints of sexual harassment
- Review a sample of sexual harassment complaints from 2023 and 2024 to assess any trends and risks
- Arrange meetings with its existing DE&I groups to discuss risks of sexual harassment, and any additional preventative steps which could be taken
- Continue to monitor and review its sexual harassment risk assessment
- Further review internal harassment policies and training content, including its relationships at work guidance
What is a section 23 agreement?
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:
“Every employer has a legal duty to prevent sexual harassment and they must be able to prove they’ve taken reasonable steps to do so.
“We welcome the improvements the retailer has already made since an employment tribunal ruled against them, and their willingness to take the further steps we have recommended. By signing this legal agreement, the retailer has committed to carrying out this work based on our expert advice.
“Sexual harassment is never acceptable in the workplace. All employers should take note of what the law requires of them under the preventative duty. We will continue to use our unique powers as Britain’s equality regulator to ensure everyone can work without fear of sexual harassment.”
Under the current provisions of the Employment Rights Bill, set to receive Royal Assent in Autumn 2025 and be implemented over a period of two years, the proactive duty will be extended to require employers to take “all” reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
