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Worker Protection Act 2024 (UK)
Safeguarding Your Working Environment
To craft a perfect labour rights culture in the workplace, the United Kingdom government released a crucial act that is coming into effect and force on 26th October 2024. This act set a significant milestone in safeguarding both employee’s personal and professional rights in the workplace. It can be considered as a new dawn for labour rights.
Here we take a look into the key aspects of the Worker Protection Act 2024, its mandate, given onus, and how much effect it will bring on employees as well as employers’ lives and the future of the workplace in the United Kingdom.
Worker Protection Act 2024
What, When, and Why?
What?
Worker Protection Act 2024 is a legislation which is created by the UK government to deal with inappropriate behest, inappropriate gesturing, sexual harassment, sexual orientation discrimination, disability discrimination, religion or belief discrimination, race discrimination, pregnancy and maternity discrimination, age discrimination, and many more which is related to the workplace.
When?
In 1995 an argument arose among British workers that to maintain self-dignity and professionalism in the workplace employees should not touch each other without their consent. This argument was based on the sex discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, and disability discrimination Act 1995. Later on, the Equality Act 2010 was introduced to protect labour from unlawful discrimination. This act brought previous legislation together.
Approximately a decade and a half later, the EHRC updated guidance on sexual harassment on 9th July 2024 in anticipation of the legislation coming into existence and was open for implementation consultation until 6th August 2024. It all goes like you should not wait until an incident takes place before taking action.
To respond to proactive old acts and preventative harassment measures, the UK government brought a new worker protection act on 26th October 2024. This sexual harassment law demands that employers and employees must act to prevent sexual harassment as well as create and foster an environment full of dignity and respect.
Why?
This legislation came into existence because of alarming statistics on the workplace in Britain. According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in 2018, 18% of men and 40% of women reported some sort of sexual harassment in the workplace that they experienced. Furthermore, a staggering 75% of people have witnessed pervasive sexual harassment at workplace.
Sexual harassment remains prevalent in UK workplaces. An estimated 40-50% of women and almost 70% of LGBT workers have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace (Source: AGR Law Solicitors, 2024).
People of colour report significantly higher rates of occurrence (Source: AGR Law Solicitors, 2024). In addition to this, four out of five people report feeling unable to report sexual harassment to their employer. So, the Worker Protection Act 2024 comes in for the necessity for robust preventive measures.
The Key Components of the Worker Protection Act 2024
Encompassing a wide range of protective measures, this 2024 design creates transparent legislation for all working sectors. For instance, some notable measures:
Employers
- This act mandates employers to implement proper procedures to prevent sexual harassment of employees. For example, collect corroborating evidence by the victim such as online mail or CCTV footage to bring the perpetrator to justice.
- Employers must reassess their policies and implement them to ensure that they are up-to-date and fit for purpose because every business must keep in line with the new law and if the employer ends up breaching his duty, then compensation to the employer may increase up to 25%. Even it can end up in business closure and imprisonment.
- Any type of sexual harassment can involve serious sensitive elements. That’s why employers must enhance clear and confidential reporting mechanisms systems to reduce the stigma and fear associated with reporting sexual harassment. Therefore, failure to foster this mechanism will be accountable to employees.
- From now on employers can create an online reporting system that allows employees to make complaints anonymously, put new awareness campaigns, and force employees to take dedicated courses.
- Employers now can be held accountable if their employees face sexual harassment by third parties such as customers, clients, and suppliers. Before this act 2024 came into force employers were only liable if they failed to take action on reported harassment.
Employees
- Employees must abide by the new act and help employers to establish a healthy workplace. Failure to cope with this act means you could end up facing serious financial costs and tribunal action. For instance, unlimited fines, work penalties, and even imprisonment.
- Employees must take the employer’s newly made policy (after the Act 2024) and implement policy word by word so that they don’t face harassment in regular-based work communication or even in training which is aligned to risk areas such as seasonal events.
- The Worker Protection Act states that other employees or colleagues of the victim cannot make a standalone claim for a breach of the preventative duty. Only the victim employee can claim that an employer has failed in their preventative duty.
- From now on employees can legally craft more avenues to detect harassment through informal one-to-ones, surveys, and staff networks.
- For reporting false claims of sexual harassment employees will be punished severely by law. The employers and the accused get the right to file a lawsuit to a tribunal in this situation.
Crucial Assessments: Are You and Your Organisation Ready for the Act 2024?
Appraise you and your organisation’s policies and procedures and see if they are in same page with the up-to-date sexual harassment law by answering the following questions:
1. Policies and Procedures
- Are you and your organisation acquainted with the new worker protection legislation 2024?
- Does your organisation keep harassment reports digitally and in written form and implement policy based on them?
2. Courses & Training
- Does employers and employees of your organization take part in mental health and sexual harassment prevention courses?
- Does your organisation’s training go in line with the new act?
3. Confidential Complaints and Compliance Mechanisms
- Do employers and employees of your organization take part in mental health and sexual harassment prevention courses?
- Does your organisation’s training go in line with the new act?
4. Risk Appraisal
- Does your organisation assess the risk of employee visits to risk areas such as seasonal events?
- Does your organisation take full liability if their employee or employees face sexual harassment by third parties such as customers, clients, and suppliers?
5. Monitoring
- Does your organisation collect corroborating evidence by the victim such as online mail or CCTV footage to bring the perpetrator to justice?
- Does your organization seriously aim to crackdown sexual harassment on workplace?
Score your readiness:
5 Yes: Your organisation is going preactive to proactive and well prepared.
3-4 Yes: You and your organisation are in the right tune with the act but there is room for improvement.
1-2 Yes: Immediate action is needed to foster a safe workplace environment.
0 Yes: Consider seeking a new job or take expert guidance to change policies aligned with the Worker Protection Act 2024.
Potential Challenges and Considerations
This act is widely supported and known as zero tolerance legislation but at the same time some organisations find it has some drawbacks and expressed their concerns about financial penalties and administrative processes burden it may impose.
Alan Lewis, employment partner at Constantine Law, says the act ‘falls short’ of its original ambition, after it was ‘watered down’ during the parliamentary process. ‘The initial bill included protection against third-party harassment and required employers to take all reasonable steps rather than just reasonable steps.
As the act is a landmark step taken by the UK government so let’s just put our trust in this act and see how it transforms the workplace and speak up culture across the UK and whether it sets a precedent and gains extol in jurisdictions.
As both employers and employees are in the same boat, they must embrace these changes and face repercussions and redressing together which hopefully end up creating a more respectful, and supportive work environment for all.
Conclusion
We hope you found the information for which you came in. Our specialists in this field have pragmatically developed courses aimed at helping employers, employees, and even bystanders to delve deeper into understanding and applying the Worker Protection Act 2024 to proliferate productivity and substantial contributions to society.
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