Take the worker's pledge to help stamp out harassment!

Your employer must now take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. And they have to stop harassment by customers and service users. 

But a recent study showed that 2 in 5 employers aren't aware of the new rules.  

The new law is only as strong as we are. Enforcing it will fall to us. 

To help embed these new rights, we've created a template letter for you and your colleagues to send to your employer. It asks them what they are doing to meet the law and prevent harassment. 

When you pledge, you'll get the letter, a guide on talking to your colleagues, and lots of support to make it happen. 

Will you join workers across the country and take the pledge? 

To make sure you see the benefit of these new rights, we need employers to know the law has changed and to make sure they're doing something about it. 

So, on December 10, people in hundreds of workplaces are going to send an open letter to their employer reminding them about the change and asking them to share their plans on how they'll respond to the new laws.  

Can you step up and pledge to... 

• Download our model letter and adapt it to your workplace; 
• Get your colleagues to sign too; 
• Send the letter to your employer on Thursday, December 10; 
• And tell us when you've sent it in? 

Take the pledge

What are the new rights? 

Unions have just won a new legal requirement for employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment and harassment by third parties such as clients, customers, patients and services users.  

This widens the scope of existing rights, which already obliged employers to protect staff from harassment by their colleagues, and strengthens sexual harassment protections by specifying that ‘all’ reasonable steps must be taken to prevent sexual harassment, not just reasonable steps.  

The Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance is clear; employers should carry out risk assessments to evaluate the potential for sexual harassment and third-party harassment to occur in various scenarios and put in place mitigations. Other 'reasonable steps' could look like a zero-tolerance policy, new training, extra staff, appropriate safety equipment and much more. 

What's 'reasonable' to prevent harassment will look different depending on the size of the workplace and the nature of the work. Therefore, your employer should tell you how they're responding to the new laws and listen to your views as part of this. That's what your letter reminds them to do. 

Why take this action now? 

This is bigger than just your workplace. We have an opportunity to challenge the culture around harassment and stamp it out wherever it occurs.  

It's desperately needed. 1 in 2 women and 2 in 3 LGBT+ workers experience sexual harassment at work.  

The new third-party rights are crucial, because in 2 in 5 incidents, the perpetrator of sexual harassment, bullying or verbal abuse was a member of the public rather than a colleague.  

Taking this pledge now, during Young Workers Month, is an important solidarity action. We know that young workers are concentrated in public-facing jobs where they can suffer regular abuse and harassment. Students account for as much as a fifth of workers in frontline retail and hospitality. 

It’s also the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence from 25 November to 10 December. Every year, the campaign highlights the gender-based violence that affects 1 in 3 women worldwide. This year, the campaign calls for the safety of women and girls everywhere they go – at home, in public, at work, and online. Taking this pledge means you’re part of delivering that call for the safety of women everywhere.  

These new rights have been widely welcomed by the public. 8 in 10 people we spoke to are in favour of the changes. It's more than likely that your co-workers agree.  

And this first month is crucial. We need to make sure that employers hear about the rules and deliver real change, not just a tick box exercise. 

That's why we're asking workers like you to step up, build an open letter with your colleagues, and send it in on (or after) our day of action on December 10. 

We have a tangible, practical chance to properly challenge the culture around harassment, let's take it.  

Step up and take the prevent harassment pledge today!