The Trades Union Congress (TUC), women’s rights organisations and charities have launched a joint campaign calling on the government to introduce a new law to make employers responsible for protecting their staff from sexual harassment at work.

The TUC said its research found that more than half (52 per cent) of women – and nearly seven out of ten LGBT people – have experienced sexual harassment at work. But under current law there is no legal duty on employers to take proactive action to prevent harassment happening in their workplaces. Instead, the onus is on the victim of the sexual harassment to report it to their employer after it has happened.

Four out of five (79 per cent) women who have been sexually harassed at work do not feel able to report it to their employer, so that the harassment continues unchecked in workplaces across the UK.

With the government due to launch its consultation on tackling sexual harassment, the TUC’s ‘This is Not Working’ alliance wants to see the law changed so employers have a legal duty to take preventive measures to ensure their workplaces are harassment-free.

The new duty would be supported by a code of practice, explaining exactly what steps bosses need to take to prevent sexual harassment – such as carrying out mandatory training for staff and managers, and having clear policies. The alliance says this simple step would mean that the burden of dealing with sexual harassment would be shifted from individuals to employers.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “It’s shocking that in 2019 so many people experience sexual harassment and assault while at work. The government must strengthen the law to put responsibility for preventing harassment on employers. This would shift the burden of tackling sexual harassment away from individuals. And it would help end toxic workplace cultures that silence those who’ve been harassed.”

The alliance of more than 20 unions, charities and women’s rights organisations, including the Fawcett Society, Action Aid, Amnesty and Time’s Up, has launched a petition calling for a new law to make employers prevent sexual harassment in their workplaces.