Four in five charities say they are concerned about an imminent change to their legal duty as employers to protect workers from sexual harassment from third parties, including clients, donors, contractors and suppliers.

The updated duty is being brought in by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) later this month when 2023's Worker Protection Act comes into force.

While a duty on employers to protect workers from sexual harassment from third parties was removed from the legislation as it progressed through the previous parliament, this obligation is being included EHRC technical guidance.

The survey involved the views of 173 charities and has been carried out by employment advice firm WorkNest.

“Failure to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties will be in breach of the preventive duty,” warns Worknest’s HR training manager and solicitor Lona Gemmell.

To comply, she advises that charities “adopt a zero-tolerance policy and take proactive steps to reduce the risk of third-party sexual harassment”.

“Depending on the working environment, this could include signage, procedures for removing and banning customers and personal safety training for staff,” she added.

“Organisations should also encourage staff to report incidents and have a clear plan in place for dealing with any third-party harassment incidents.”

Across all sectors, only a third of organisations have the legislative changes “on their radar”. Less than 1% say they are fully compliant.

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