The Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) has published templates for employers to help them prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
The Equality Act 2010 defines sexual harassment as unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, which has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Employers have a positive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
The templates feature a checklist, including actions to take before shifts and at the start and end of shifts. The checklist was originally designed for the hospitality sector but can be adapted for individual workplaces.
There is also an action plan, to help incorporate the checklist into an employer's working practices, and monitoring logs to help monitor how the checklist is being used and whether any changes to an employer's approach may be needed.
The templates are designed to complement employers' existing policies and help them protect their employees and their organisation.
The ECHR also provides technical guidance covering sexual harassment, harassment and victimisation in the workplace, and an eight-step guide for employers on preventing sexual harassment at work.