An article was recently published by Glen Owen, Political Editor for The Mail on Sunday, whereby Labour’s Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner, was accused of opening and closing her legs to “distract” Boris Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions. The article also highlights Angela Rayner’s background of leaving school aged 16 whilst pregnant and with no qualifications.
Boris Johnson has since released a statement condemning the remarks, stating:
“as much as I disagree with Angela Rayner on almost every political issue, I respect her as a parliamentarian and deplore the misogyny directed at her anonymously today”.
Although it is unclear where the comments about Angela Rayner originated from, it poses a serious question in respect of the prevention of harassment within the Government.
Equality Act 2010
Under the Equality Act 2010, harassment is defined as:
“unwanted conduct relating to a protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of either violating the person’s dignity or creating a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”.
Harassment in the workplace is unlawful, however, there is a statutory defence whereby an employer cannot be found liable for the harassment if it can show that it took all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment from taking place.
The comments made about Angela Rayner fall within the legal definition of harassment and although there is nothing to suggest that “reasonable steps” were taken by the Government, as yet there have been no sanctions for the harassment that occurred.
Employment Bill
Coincidently, last year the Government released its response to the consultation from 2019 on sexual harassment in the workplace. This included the proposal of the implementation of a new duty on employers to actively prevent sexual harassment, rather than just having to show that they took reasonable steps. However, the Government did not provide any time scales and simply said that the proposal would be implemented “when Parliamentary time allows”.
In addition to this proposal, the Government has also pledged to extend the time limit for bringing a claim for sexual harassment which is currently three months from the harassment conduct. However, the Government has not provided any details on what the new time limit will be and again, when it will be implemented.
Next steps for employers
Unfortunately, harassment remains a reality for some people in the workplace, not just Angela Rayner. In order to prevent harassment in the workplace, employers should ensure that they have an effective anti-harassment policy in place which is communicated and applied throughout the business. Regular and up-to-date training in respect of preventing harassment in the workplace is something the Nelsons employment team can help with.
How can Nelsons help
Kate Frisby is a Trainee Solicitor at Nelsons.
For advice on or further information in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, please contact Kate or a member of our expert Employment Law team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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