Preventing sexual harassment | Christmas party

On 26 October 2024, the Worker Protection (Equality Act Amendment 2010) Act 2023 came into force and introduced new obligations for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment.

As the festive season and Christmas parties approach, it is important for employers to consider this duty – especially as it requires employers to take positive steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring.

Top tips for avoiding sexual harassment

Below we have summarized our top 5 tips for dealing with the Christmas period in the context of sexual harassment.

1. Clear communication before the event

Our first top tip is to clearly communicate expectations before any event. It’s easy for us all to get carried away when attending events that are held outside of normal working hours and possibly outside of work hours. However, employees must continue to act in accordance with their organization’s values ​​and policies. Those attending should be reminded that although they are there for fun and enjoyment, the event is an extension of the workplace and they should be considerate of their colleagues. Ultimately, what may be appropriate in their personal lives may not be appropriate for their coworkers.

It should be noted that when it comes to the employer’s responsibilities, whatever is done by the employee during the period of his employment is considered to be done by the employer. Employers can be liable for harassment in these situations even if the harassment was committed without their knowledge. Although this topic is still debated, social events may be included in the term ‘at work’ even if they are held outside the work location and/or outside normal working hours.

2. Conduct a risk assessment

One key element of the new duties is that employers must carry out risk assessments to assess the risk of sexual harassment. Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance states that failure to carry out a risk assessment is an indication that an organization is likely not to comply with this duty.

The risk assessment should look at specific relevant risk factors and will likely draw on previous complaints of sexual harassment during the organisation’s previous Christmas period. The EHRC has identified areas that may increase the risk of sexual harassment, and these include (among others) the presence of alcoholic beverages and attending events outside the usual work environment. Both factors are relevant to consider in the context of a Christmas party.

If you are a large organization, you may have multiple office locations coming together for one Christmas event. If so, your risk assessment should take into account any relevant risk factors in this regard – for example, people meeting for the first time.

Because this new duty also protects your employees from sexual harassment by third parties, your risk assessment should not only address coworkers socializing together but also third parties who may be present at the event, such as site staff. Employers should consider how they will protect their staff from these third parties. For example, contacting the event location in advance to let them know about the organization’s zero-tolerance approach.

If you are wondering how detailed a risk assessment you need, we recommend that you create something similar to a Health and Safety risk assessment as a starting point.

3. Reporting channel reminder

If you feel staff don’t know how to report incidents of sexual harassment or perhaps your organization has a lot of new staff, consider reminding employees about the reporting channels available to them. The ECHR recommends that employers provide multiple reporting channels for workers and the Fawcett Society recommendations suggest that such reporting channels should be conducted by at least two different people at different levels in the organization.

Employers may wish to consider holding sexual harassment refresher training before the Christmas period as a reminder of the standards expected of staff and address the reporting channels available should employees require them.

Clear reporting channels will not only make it easier for individuals to submit their reports but will ultimately help your organization avoid delays in investigating reports of sexual harassment.

4. Make sure your policies are up to date

Organizations should use the Christmas period as an opportunity to reflect on their policies and ensure that anti-bullying and harassment, equality and diversity, whistleblowing, disciplinary and complaints procedures are in place and up to date.
While there is no specific requirement for organizations to separate sexual harassment policies from general anti-harassment policies, we recommend that there be a clear distinction between the two.

Sexual harassment policies should include, among other things:

• who the policy seeks to cover;
• clear definition of sexual harassment;
• that sexual harassment is unlawful and will not be tolerated;
• that sexual harassment may result in disciplinary action;
• examples of aggravating factors;
• reporting channels (as above); And
• sexual harassment and third parties.

It is important for these policies to address situations outside an organization’s office premises to cover not only work-related social activities but also remote work.

Our Employment Team would be happy to help review your organization’s policies and/or update your current policies.

5. Consider additional actions/alternatives

While it may be too late to change your organization’s Christmas plans for 2024, there are small adjustments you can make to help reduce the risk of sexual harassment. For example, consider whether limits should be placed on the amount of alcohol served per person, whether there will be designated attendees who have not consumed alcohol, and ensuring attendees can get home safely after the event (such as pre-arranged taxis) and be supervised. .

We would also encourage entrepreneurs to look ahead to the 2025 social calendar and consider whether alternatives to the traditional Christmas party could work next year. For example, can you plan team lunches or daytime activities? Either way, we would recommend carrying out a risk assessment to identify relevant risks consistent with obligations under the duty of care.

Our next internal seminar covering this topic will be held on December 5th. To find out more details and book your place click here.

If you have questions about preventing sexual harassment, or any other employment issue, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Employment team.

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