Sexual harassment – high on the agenda

This month the Financial Conduct Authority ordered more than 1000 banks and organisations within its remit to report to it on how many sexual harassment, discrimination and other non-financial misconduct cases they have recorded since 2021 and how they have dealt with them. A failure to respond could lead to fines or search of premises.

This follows the FCA’s appearance before the Treasury Committee’s Sexism in the City enquiry in which the FCA promised to investigate and report on these issues.

Preventing sexual harassment remains high on the agenda across sectors and employers.  In addition to the FCA’s recent action, in recent months we have seen:

• EHRC intervention in a number of large UK employers, requiring them to sign up to legally-binding agreements to address issues in their workplace
• Some high-profile awards of significant compensation in Employment Tribunal claims for sexual harassment
• Confirmation that all UK employers will have a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace

If they are not already doing so, we recommend that employers implement sexual harassment prevention training, whether that is in-person training or via learning.

If you have any queries you would like to discuss regarding the contents of this article, please contact Rena Magdani or Matt McBride.

Read the other recent Employment articles:

• Focus on technology
• Fire and Rehire – Code of Practice creeps closer

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