“Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the GEO consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace.
Acas is a statutory, non-departmental public body with a duty to improve employment relations in Great Britain. In 2018/19, Acas handled approximately 730,000 calls from individuals and employers to its national helpline and our website received over 11 million visits from individuals seeking advice and support. During the year we provided conciliation in approximately 600 collective disputes and also received around 2,500 early conciliation notifications per week. Our network of locally-based advisers also trained over 34,000 people on a wide range of workplace related topics. Acas has considerable practical experience of the dynamics of the workplace and of issues experienced by workers and employers in situations of workplace harassment.
This response primarily seeks to offer some general observations on the proposals set out in the consultation. Where the response covers a question which falls within the direct remit of Acas, the relevant question is specified within the subheading.
Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace and third party harassment
Acas welcomes the Government’s decision to consider introducing a preventative duty on employers to prevent harassment and victimisation and to reinstate s.40 of the Equality Act (third party harassment). As noted in paragraph 35 of our response to the Government’s consultation on Confidentiality clauses: measures to prevent misuse in situations of workplace harassment or discrimination, Acas believes that such measures should be considered to encourage organisations to take proactive action to tackle the root causes of harassment at work, and ensure that victims are not inappropriately silenced. Acas would welcome working with the Government and other stakeholders to develop appropriate guidance and on any information campaign to raise awareness of changes and best practice to employers and workers.
Promoting transparency in the form outlined at paragraph 1.21 of the consultation document is something that Acas agrees that the Government should explore. Policies and procedures have an important role to play in the workplace, but they form only one part of the solution. In Acas’ experience, creating the right workplace culture which encourages positive behaviours, and allows for open dialogue is crucial. As such, our view is that the monitoring of the number of cases or complaints involving harassment and/or discrimination would enable organisations to more effectively understand and act appropriately on any patterns. Further, such a requirement would place a greater onus on an organisation to take proactive action and help foster trust amongst their workers that these issues are taken seriously.”
For the full report, please visit: http://www.lipnetwork.org.uk/documents/Sexual_harassment_in_the_workplace.pdf