Personnel

Acas – updated guidance on sexual harassment

Posted on November 4th, 2024

Acas has updated its guidance on sexual harassment to reflect the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 which came into force from 26 October 2024.

The guidance sets out that employers must take steps to prevent sexual harassment in the first place. This includes taking action to assess risks and putting measures in place. To help employers take appropriate action, they should:

  • Consider the risks of sexual harassment happening in the organisation.
  • Consider steps that could be taken to reduce the risks of sexual harassment happening.
  • Consider which of those steps are reasonable to take.
  • Take those steps.

What is reasonable depends on the situation.

CEFM has published on the CEFMi website a template Sexual harassment risk assessment form which can be used to consider any risks in your school.

A link to the updated Acas guidance can be found here – What sexual harassment is. The Acas guidance can be read alongside the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated technical guidance and its eight-step guide which we reported on in October in our News & insights section of the CEFM website.

A link to the EHRC’s technical guidance can be found here – Sexual harassment and harassment at work: technical guidance – along with the eight-step guide Employer 8-step guide: Preventing sexual harassment at work.

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