Recommendation 3

HM Government Deferred

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 created a duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. This came into force on 26 October 2024 and sends a strong signal to employers that they must improve workplace practices and culture across Britain. As you are aware, the Government is strengthening this duty through three clauses in the Employment Rights Bill. Clause 20 will ensure employers take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. Clause 21 will also require employers not to permit third parties to harass their employees. Finally, it is also enacting a power through Clause 23 enabling regulations to specify steps that employers must take to prevent sexual harassment, where there is a clear evidence base supporting the efficacy of particular steps. Regulations will also be able to specify matters to which employers must have regard when taking steps for the purposes of the sexual harassment provisions. All three of these clauses in the Employment Rights Bill will already provide a remedy for harassment in employment and other paid work that includes some people who may describe themselves as a freelancer. This is because the definition of employment in the Equality Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) is broad, and includes a variety of working arrangements beyond the traditional employment relationship, including those engaged on contracts to perform work personally such as subcontractors and agency workers, unless they are genuinely self-employed. Whether a person who describes themselves as self-employed or freelance is protected under the 2010 Act will depend on their specific circumstances, and it would be for an employment tribunal to determine. However, this should not be taken as the end of the Government’s work to eradicate sexual harassment at work. The Office for Equality and Opportunity launched a Call for Evidence on Equality Law on 7 April 2025, which closed on 30 June 2025. The Call for Evidence’s questions relating to sexual harassment sought evidence on: • effective steps that can be taken by employers to reduce and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace; • the scope of protections against sexual harassment; • any other steps and interventions that respondents believe should be considered to prevent workplace sexual harassment. We will give responses to the Call for Evidence careful consideration as we consider next steps in tackling workplace sexual harassment and welcome the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s contribution to this consideration through this report.