I congratulate the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) on bringing the Bill to its Third Reading and on the way in which she has championed the fight against workplace harassment. I very much take on board her point about the short notice of the amendments, but I am grateful for her support for them. As I am sure she has heard in the debate, there were concerns about freedom of speech.
I thank all hon. Members who have taken part in the debate—it has been a privilege to debate the proposals with such strong support in the House. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Angela Richardson) for her support. I hope that the legislation will protect her daughter’s generation in the workplace. My hon. Friend the Member for North West Norfolk (James Wild) was right: the vast majority of employers do the right thing, but it is important to protect those in the workplace when the right thing does not happen.
My hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra) was right to say that there can be unintended consequences, and he gave good examples of them. I am pleased that the amendments have reassured him and that he feels able to support them. That is also the case for my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (James Sunderland), who had concerns about freedom of speech. I am pleased that our amendments have also given him reassurance.
Above all, the Bill is about fairness, safety and protecting the workplace. The Government are committed to ensuring that everyone feels safe and is able to thrive in work. In 2019, we held a consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace, and we hope that this legislation will meet many of the concerns that were raised during that period. The Bill demonstrates its own importance, as we have heard this afternoon. The two principal measures are to introduce explicit protections from workplace harassment by third parties such as customers or clients and to place a duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent their employees from experiencing harassment. These new protections against third-party harassment will make an employer legally liable if they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent third parties from harassing their staff. In concrete terms, this means that employers will now assess the harassment risk that third parties pose in their workplace and will take steps to protect their staff. Bartenders will be better protected
from unwanted sexual conduct by drunk customers, and NHS staff will be better protected from racial abuse by patients.
The question of whether an action is reasonable is very familiar, and we have heard a lot about it today. I stress that the Bill does not require employers to succeed in stopping all harassment at work—that is, sadly, impossible and would be unrealistic. The Bill requires employees to take all reasonable steps to protect their employees in circumstances in the workplace where harassment can take place. On Report, Members supported the Government’s amendment to clarify for employers what is expected of them under the Bill and the wider Equality Act.
To conclude, the measures in the Bill will strengthen the protection for employees against workplace harassment. The Government are pleased to continue to support this private Member’s Bill, and I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Bath for making such progress with it.
12.56 pm