Worker's Protection Bill passes third reading

The Worker's Protection Bill has passed its third reading in the House of Commons.

The Bill would create new legal liabilities for employers by treating an employer as harassing their employee if the employee is harassed in the course of their employment by third parties (such as customers or clients) and the employer fails "to take all reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so".

It would also create a new corresponding duty on employers to "take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment" of their employees in the course of their employment. This duty would be enforced by the EHRC but employment tribunals would also be allowed to apply an uplift of up to 25% to employees' compensation in sexual harassment cases where the employer had failed to uphold this duty.

The measure is a Private Members' Bill put forward by Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse and will next move to the House of Lords. Its progress can be followed here.