Policy background
- The Equality Act 2010 ("the 2010 Act") provides legal protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. Despite this, persistent reports and revelations that have emerged in recent years indicate that it remains a problem within the workplace.
- In 2013, parliament repealed sections 40(2)-(4) of the 2010 Act. In 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that, in the absence of those sections, the 2010 Act no longer makes employers liable for harassment of their employees by third parties like customers.
- In response to the Women & Equalities Committee’s fifth report of session 2017–19
, the government held a public consultation and public questionnaire about the effectiveness of anti-harassment law. In view of the results, the government committed to introduce legislation that would once again make employers liable for harassment of their employees by third parties and would require employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
