Hiring Field Service Engineers? Thinking about the new sexual harassment regulations?
If you are about to hire a permanent Field Service Engineer - as an employer what steps do you need to take to comply with the new sexual harassment regulations?
We asked specialist employment law specialists Lawson West Solicitors:-
Answer:-
The Equality Act 2010 already requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The Employment Rights Bill when inacted would extend this duty to all forms of harassment and will require employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent third party harassment.
With the recent updates to harassment regulations, it is crucial that you incorporate robust measures to your onboarding process to ensure compliance and foster a safe respectful workplace.
Pre-Onboarding
• Policy review – to ensure that your anti-harassment policy is up to date and covers all forms of harassment including sexual harassment and third-party harassment.
• To provide training to managers on recognising and responding to harassment complaints and how to create positive working environments.
Onboarding
• Mandatory training – mandatory harassment training that covers the definition of harassment and specific examples. Explaining the company has a zero-tolerance policy. The training should also cover how harassment should be reported and the consequence of harassment
.• Clear communication channels – it is important that you establish clear and accessible channels for reporting harassment, such as a dedicated HR hotline, or confidential email address. There could also be an anonymous reporting system to encourage employees to come forward without the fear of retaliation.
• Regular check-ins – there should be one-to-one meetings, with new employees to discuss their experiences, address any concerns and reinforce the company’s commitment to anti-harassment through the workplace. There should also be feedback opportunities for employees to provide their feedback on workplace culture and any potential issues. implementing these proactive measures you can create a safe and respectful working environment for your Field ServiceEngineers, mitigating the risk of harassment and ensuring compliance with all the regulations.
Ongoing
• Regular policy reviews – there should be periodic reviews and updating of our anti-harassment policy to ensure that it aligns with current legal requirements and practices.
• Ongoing training and awareness – conduct regular refresher training sessions to reinforce key messages and address the merging issues.
• Employees salaries and feedback – gather anonymous feedback from your employees to identify potential areas of concern and implement necessary improvements.
• Remote work – if Field Service Engineers work remotely independently, provide clear guidelines for professional conduct and communication even when they are working at an additional office settings
.• Client interactions – training employees on how to handle potential harassment situations involving clients or customers, emphasising the importance of reporting incidents.
• Company Vehicle Use – establish clear policies regarding the use of company vehicles, including guidelines for appropriate behavior and prohibition of discrimination and harassing conduct. By implementing these proactive measures you can create a safe and respectful working environment for your Field Service Engineers, mitigating the risk of harassment and ensuring compliance with all the latest regulations.
Download more information about Sexual Harassment Law from Lawson West Solicitors website www.lawson-west.co.uk or call 0116 212 1000.
For a pdf version of the information contained in this blog - click here:-
© Precision People 2024
