Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

James Howarth, Associate

There have been several recent cases of alleged sexual harassment and misconduct in the news, with Tesco reportedly recently settled a claim of sexual harassment against it, whilst the couple who run PinkNews, the world’s largest LGBT news website, have been accused by staff of multiple incidents of sexual misconduct. However, the most recent high profile case is around the various allegations that have been made against Gregg Wallace, famously known for presenting MasterChef in the UK.

It is alleged that he engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour and sexually harassed a number of colleagues going back decades. Originally 13 contestants made historic allegations, however since then a number of other complaints have been made, with various individuals now coming forward to raise concerns about Mr Wallace’s conduct.

Mr Wallace’s legal representatives have denied that he engaged in sexually harassing behaviour. Although the complaints are only allegations at this point, we can still consider them in light of sexual harassment legislation in the UK.

Some of the allegations against Mr Wallace reference groping, inappropriate touching and indecent exposure. Such conduct will of course, always be inappropriate in the workplace, and potentially a criminal matter.

Other allegations refer to the way he spoke to colleagues, describing his language and topics for discussions inappropriate. The accusations include:

• Telling jokes of a “sexual nature” in front of colleagues;
• Being incredibly frank and open about his sex life to colleagues;
• Asking a colleague who was lesbian, the “logistics of how it worked”;
• Telling “Dad jokes” of a sexual nature;
• Speaking in a leud and filthy manner.

Under the Equality Act 2010, sexual harassment occurs when an individual engages in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, and that conduct has the purpose or effect of violating that individual’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.

Unwanted conduct essentially means unwelcome or uninvited conduct, although it doesn’t mean express objection needs to be made for it to be unwanted. A one-off incident can amount to harassment.

What is considered to be of a sexual nature is wide ranging and can take the form of sexual comments and jokes, staring and leering and intrusive questions and statements about someone’s sex life. Given this, if the allegations against Mr Wallace are proven, it would appear on the face of it, quite difficult to defend. Clearly the language he allegedly used would be of a sexual nature.

It is interesting to note that Mr Wallace initially re-posted various comments on his social media of former contestants of MasterChef, and their positive experience of working with him. For example a former MasterChef worker said she didn’t feel there was any malice to his comments.

That does not provide Mr Wallace with a viable defence. As noted, even if Mr Wallace did not intend to offend or intimidate, and even if some colleagues were content with his conduct, clearly not all colleagues were. His conduct may not have had the purpose of harassing, but clearly it had that effect on some colleagues.

Mr Wallace’s case is an important example to employers, as since 26 October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 introduced a mandatory new duty on all employers to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment. This includes preventing third parties from sexual harassing employees.

The Employment Rights Bill, also announced in October, proposes to take this even further to require employers to take ALL reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. In addition, the Bill will reintroduce employer liability for any third party harassment (not just sexual harassment), and make complaints of sexual harassment a public interest disclosure.

So, if the allegations against Mr Wallace are proven, not only would the complainants have legitimate claims against Mr Wallace, they would also likely have claims against his employer at the time the alleged acts took place. To note, the average award for a successful sexual discrimination claim in 2023/2024 was £53,403*

The allegations against Mr Wallce highlight the importance to employers of taking all reasonable steps now to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. It will not be sufficient to take steps after a complaint has been made. What steps you take will be dependent on your business and the risks associated with the type of work you engage with however, as a minimum, you would expect businesses to:

• Undertake a risk assessment to ascertain the extent of risk to the business, both internally and in relation to third-parties which employees come into contact with during the course of their employment.
• Implement a sexual harassment policy. This policy must clearly set out what is acceptable conduct in the workplace, and demonstrate a zero-tolerance approach to any behaviour that contravenes it. This policy should be reviewed and updated regularly.
• Implement clear reporting procedures and advertise these procedures to employees. You should also encourage staff to report any complaints, or concerns, and use the procedures highlighted.
• Undertake workplace sexual harassment training. This is mandatory training, and should explain the new sexual harassment duties, what sexual harassment is, and what conduct is acceptable. It is also an opportunity to go through the risks highlighted as part of the risk assessment the business has undertaken. This training should be specific, focused and reviewed regularly.

*as reported in the Tribunal statistics published by the Government in October 2024.

Kuits provide bespoke and focused sexual harassment training to ensure that businesses are complying with their new sexual harassment duties. We can also assist with preparing the relevant policies and processes that businesses should adhere to whilst also providing crisis management advice when allegations are made.

If you would like any further information regarding these, please contact our Employment team on 0161 832 3434 or email info@kuits.com.