New protection from third party harassment

Actions higher education institutions can take to be ready for key legal changes that come in to force 1 October 2010

Key changes

The Equality Act 2010 makes the employer liable in the case of harassment of its employees by third parties unless the employer has taken reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so.

Third parties could include:

Students
Contractors over whom the institution does not have direct control (for example maintenance contractors)

This only applies if the employer knows that the employee has been harassed on at least two previous occasions. The employee does not need to have been harassed by the same person on each occasion.

Actions

Ensure third parties are aware of the institution's duty to tackle this form of harassment through:

Revising student codes of conduct, student induction and programme handbooks so that they are aware of their rights and responsibilities not to harass others, including staff
Revising terms and conditions of contractors to ensure that they make their employees aware that harassment of the institution's staff will not be tolerated
Revising information and signage for visitors and for events outlining unacceptable behaviour

Include details of third-party harassment when gathering evidence around staff experiences of harassment and discrimination (for example, as part of satisfaction surveys)

Further information

Further information on protecting employees from third party harassment:

How do we protect employees from third party harassment?