Katy Wedderburn: Top Five Tips to prepare for upcoming changes to the Equality Act 2010

On October 26^th, 2024, there will be an amendment to the Equality Act 2010 that gives employers a mandatory duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.  

Katy Wedderburn, Employment and Discrimination Partner at gunnercooke, has worked in this area of law since 2001. She has advised clients on all areas of employment law and regularly represents them in the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. 

Read Katy’s top five tips to prepare for the upcoming change in the law. 

1. Be ready for the 26th October 

The most important piece of information is to know when the law will change, which is on the 26^th October 2024. By this date, all employers will be required to ensure that there are steps and protocols in place to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. 

2. Take reasonable steps 

With the mandatory duty in place, you need to start thinking of what steps you want to take in order to ensure you meet this. These may include updating your policies, changing your processes for employees if they were to report anything, and providing on-site training to ensure each employee understands workplace boundaries. 

3. Be proactive 

These changes can take time to put into place, and so it is important that you are proactive in your actions to ensure the correct processes to make change are already in motion.  

4. The importance of starting now. 

It’s vital that these changes are implemented now, not on or after the 26^th October. If you wait too long, you will not be prepared to meet this standard on time and therefore be in breach of the Equality Act 2010.  

5. Keep up to date with Equality and Human Rights Commission 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission are an independent statutory body with the responsibility to encourage equality and diversity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, and protect and promote the human rights of everyone in Britain.  

They will be continuing to update their guidance around this change throughout September and October and offer support on how to put in place these processes so make sure to keep an eye on these updates. 

If you need help in updating your policies to ensure that they are in line with the law, contact Katy Wedderburn through our website: https://gunnercooke.com/people/katy-wedderburn/ 

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