Harassment
In Great Britain, harassment because of someone's age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or other protected characteristic is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Harassment which is entirely unrelated to a protected characteristic isn't covered by the act. Compliance with the EHRC Technical Guidance on protecting employees from harassment is addressed in the employment law content.
Whilst not legally binding documents, the EHRC codes in this area give important guidance on good practice and failure to follow it may be taken into account by tribunals or courts.
The law protects individuals from harassment while applying for a job, in employment and in some circumstances after the working relationship has ended, for example, in connection with the provision of a verbal or written reference. There's also protection for people against harassment on the basis of their membership or non-membership of a trade union and, in Northern Ireland, against harassment on the basis of political belief. (In England and Wales, harassment because of political views isn't always automatically protected although employees who are dismissed because of their political opinions don't need two years’ service to bring an unfair dismissal claim.)
At the moment an employer is not liable for sexual harassment committed by third parties such as clients or customers. Wider liability can still arise from other legal duties, for example breach of contract, direct discrimination, the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and so on. These other legal duties and good practice mean that employers should continue to take steps to protect employees from harassment from anyone they come into contact with, including third parties such as customers or clients.
Sexual harassment
From October 2024 the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 strengthens existing protection for workers against sexual harassment. The law places a duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment, including by third parties and comes with updated EHRC technical guidance in this area. The Employment Rights Bill includes further protection and when implemented will require employers to take ‘ALL reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment.
Read our guidance on how employers should respond to sexual harassment complaints and build gender-inclusive workplaces.
Bullying
The UK legal position on bullying is more complex as there's no single piece of legislation which deals with workplace bullying. Bullying may be covered by:
- The Equality Act 2010, if it is linked to a protected characteristic.
- The Employment Rights Act 1996, especially the ‘detriment’ provisions.
- Claims for breach of an express or implied term of the employment contract - for example, breach of the implied term to take care of employees.
- Criminal or civil provisions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1998.
Bullying might also be covered by a myriad of other legal principles and laws, for example:
- The common law obligation for an employer to take care of workers’ safety.
- Personal injury protection and duties to take care of workers arising out of Tort law.
- Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974.
- Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
- Whistleblower protections.
- Human Rights Act 1998.
Bullying
The UK legal position on bullying is more complex as there's no single piece of legislation which deals with workplace bullying. Bullying may be covered by:
- The Equality Act 2010, if it is linked to a protected characteristic.
- The Employment Rights Act 1996, especially the ‘detriment’ provisions.
- Claims for breach of an express or implied term of the employment contract - for example, breach of the implied term to take care of employees.
- Criminal or civil provisions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1998.
Bullying might also be covered by a myriad of other legal principles and laws, for example:
- The common law obligation for an employer to take care of workers’ safety.
- Personal injury protection and duties to take care of workers arising out of Tort law.
- Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974.
- Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
- Whistleblower protections.
- Human Rights Act 1998.