On 30 October, significant changes to employment law come into force in England, Wales and Scotland, placing greater responsibilities on employers to protect employees from harassment, including harassment carried out by customers, clients and other third parties.
For many organisations, the legal changes may appear to be a matter for HR departments. In reality, managers and team leaders are often the first people employees turn to when something inappropriate happens. How those concerns are handled from the very first conversation could have serious legal implications for an employer.
A Common Scenario
Imagine a member of your team returns from a client meeting and tells you that a representative of the client made an inappropriate remark.
Concerned, they mention it to someone else within the client’s organisation, only to be told:
“Oh, he’s always like that. Just ignore him.”
From 30 October, that type of response is no longer something employers can afford to overlook.
What’s Changing?
Two key developments are coming into force:
- Employers Have a Duty Not to Expose Staff to Third-Party Harassment
Employers will be responsible for harassment suffered by their employees at the hands of third parties, including clients, customers, contractors and service users, unless they can demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening. All reasonable steps is a new, higher standard than the current legal requirement. Third-party means anyone other than the employer or one of its employees. This means that employers cannot simply dismiss incidents because the alleged perpetrator is not a member of staff. This new provision covers all types of harassment under the Equality Act apart from pregnancy and maternity, and marriage and civil partnership. It covers harassment during the employee’s work – both in person and online. Non-compliance can result in a 25% uplift in compensation.
- Stronger Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment
The duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment is similarly being strengthened.
Previously, employers were expected to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The new framework raises the bar, requiring employers to show they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent such behaviour occurring in the workplace.
This is a significant shift and places greater emphasis on proactive prevention rather than reactive responses.
Why Managers Need to Pay Attention
While HR teams will undoubtedly be updating policies and procedures, managers are often the people who receive concerns first.
If a team member reports inappropriate behaviour by a client or customer, the response matters.
Dismissing a complaint, minimising the issue, or suggesting that an employee should simply tolerate poor behaviour because “the client pays the bills” could expose both the employer and the employee to unnecessary risk. The new rule has no condition about earlier harassment. A single act is sufficient.
Accordingly, managers should:
- Conduct risk assessments of the working environment.
- Take every report seriously from the outset.
- Listen carefully and allow the employee to explain what happened.
- Record the details, including what was said or done, who was involved, when it happened and whether there were any witnesses.
- Ask the employee what outcome they would like and discuss the available options.
- Follow the organisation’s policies and procedures.
- Report the matter promptly to HR and senior management.
- Deal with the third party.
- Tell the employee what you did. Ensure the employee understands they are being supported and do not have to deal with the situation alone.
Paying the Bills Is Not a Defence
For many client-facing businesses, there can be a temptation to overlook problematic behaviour from valuable customers or long-standing clients.
The law is making it increasingly clear that commercial relationships cannot come at the expense of employee wellbeing and dignity.
Employees should never be expected to tolerate harassment simply because the person responsible is bringing revenue into the business.
The Clock Is Ticking
With just 48 hours remaining until these changes take effect, now is the time for employers to review their policies, refresh manager training and ensure appropriate reporting procedures are in place.
The organisations that will be best protected are not those waiting for a complaint to arise, but those taking practical steps now to create a workplace culture where concerns are taken seriously and acted upon promptly.
If your managers aren’t confident about how to respond when an employee reports inappropriate behaviour from a client, customer or service user, the next 48 hours could be time well spent making sure they are.
Need Advice on the New Harassment Laws?
The Employment Law team at BHP Law can help your organisation review its policies, strengthen reporting procedures, train managers and take practical steps to reduce the risk of workplace harassment and discrimination claims.
Don’t wait for case law to take shape before taking action. The expectations on employers are already changing, and organisations that act now will be better placed to protect both their people and their business.
