A new bill which seeks to impose specific duties on employers to improve protections against violence and harassment as part of their obligations to ensure workplace health, safety and wellbeing is making its way through parliament. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Amendment) Bill, introduced as a Private Members’ Bill, is scheduled for its second reading in the House of Commons on 7 March 2025. The Bill places particular emphasis on preventing violence, stalking, psychological abuse, and sexual harassment. If passed, it would give the Health and Safety Executive the power to enforce these new obligations, including the possibility of criminal liability and unlimited fines for breaches. We’ll speak to an employment lawyer about that.
Currently, the Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of employees as far as reasonably practicable. This Bill goes further, with obligations to conduct harassment risk assessments, implement robust policies, and provide employee training. It would give the Health and Safety Executive the power to enforce these new duties, including the possibility of criminal liability and unlimited fines for breaches. This a significant shift from the civil penalties and tribunal uplifts under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 which introduced a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace with effect from 26 October 2024. While the 2023 Act primarily relies on civil enforcement mechanisms, this Bill goes further by proposing criminal enforcement through the Health and Safety Executive.
As with most Private Members’ Bills, it is unlikely to become law but the fact it has got to the second reading stage reflects the growing recognition of harassment as a health and safety issue, rather than being confined to employment law under the Equality Act.
So, let’s hear more on this. Earlier I caught up with employment lawyer Francis Keepfer who joined me by phone from Manchester. First question, why will it probably never become law?
Francis Keepfer: “I think there are two reasons it will probably never become law. One, because it's a Private Members’ Bill and Private members Bills rarely become law. But also, having spoken with our health and safety colleagues, the consensus is that the Health and Safety at Work Act is not really the right platform for these changes because that piece of legislation has more of a focus on general health and safety responsibilities and it doesn't tend to get involved in tackling specific matters like this. I think it's really important and something that you know employers need to be taking note of is that despite the fact that we've had the new duty to prevent sexual harassment which came into force in October 2024. That imposes an obligation on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by employees and third parties. Notwithstanding that we've got that new duty, which is a fairly onerous duty, this new piece of legislation, or this new potential piece of legislation will shift the dial even further towards preventing sexual harassment by employers and it's obvious that there's still a desire within parliament to expand upon the already onerous duty on employers.”
Joe Glavina: “Whether or not the Bill makes it to the statute books, Francis, I guess HR professionals and health and safety professionals will need to make sure they don’t let any of these measure fall between them or, indeed, get duplicated?”
Francis Keepfer: “Yes, absolutely. I think the advice that we've been giving to clients, the discussions we've been having with clients, is that with the new duty to prevent sexual harassment, and that's the legislation that came into force in October 2024, it's really important to almost take a health and safety mindset to their approach to meeting the duty. So one of the obligations that comes with that new duty is, for example, to risk assess your business in terms of sexual harassment and we've been talking to clients about, as I say, taking a health and safety mindset to doing that, and actually involving your health and safety colleagues where appropriate to do so. This piece of legislation almost furthers that obligation and it actually includes specific measures such as requiring employers to conduct risk assessments and establishing clear reporting mechanisms and implementing new policies and training programmes. So even if it doesn't become law, which, as we've discussed, is unlikely, it is, again, emphasising that need to take that health and safety mindset and that approach.”
Joe Glavina: “You mention risk assessments. I was speaking to Kate Dodd back in October as the new harassment duty was about to come into force and she was saying how she’d seen a surge in requests to help clients with risk assessments. This is more of the same.”
Francis Keepfer: “Yes, absolutely. I think the legislation, as I say, came into force on 26 October 2024 and lots of employers started thinking as soon as possible what is it that we can be doing to change our organisation, to make positive changes within the organisation to meet that duty? Lots of employers have started doing that, as I say, straight away, but we're almost seeing a continuing steady stream as employers, some of them who maybe weren't as quick off the mark, if you like, are waking up to the obligations that now fall upon them. So I think we are continuing to see that steady stream of work coming in as more and more employers realize what it is they need to do and I think that will only continue as we start to see, I suppose, the potential negative implications of the new legislation coming through. So when we first start seeing, for example, tribunals imposing a 25% uplift on awards made for employers who are found to have committed sexual harassment and breached the duty, and also as we start seeing the Equality and Human Rights Commission starting to flex their muscles, I suppose, and start to use their enforcement powers. I think that will prompt even more employers to sit up and say, oh, hold on, this is really serious and we need to look at ourselves and we need to think about what action we need to take now.”
Back in October, shortly after the Bill got its first reading, our Health and Safety team wrote about this for Out-Law making a very similar point to the one we’ve just heard from Francis that whilst it is unlikely to become law it is nonetheless signalling the direction of travel. Health and safety expert Willie Park says: “Health and safety does not operate in a vacuum and a holistic approach is required to ensure compliance with obligations, requiring collaboration between both occupational health and safety and human resources functions as well as support from the wider organisational culture.” If you would like to read that article in full you can - it’s called ‘Bill seeks to improve UK workplace violence and harassment protections’ and is available now from the Out-Law website. We’ve included a link to it in the transcript of this programme.
- Link to Out-Law article: ‘Bill seeks to improve UK workplace violence and harassment protections’
