Natasha Adom, partner and head of client training at law firm GQ|Littler said that employers’ action plans needed to be tailored to their operations.
Speaking to HR magazine, she said: “There is no one-size-fits-all approach because the steps your business will need to include in, its plan will be dependent on where your risks of sexual harassment are across your business, and what steps are reasonable to take bearing in mind factors like the severity of your risk and your resources.
“The first step is to carry out your own risk assessment. We would recommend taking legal advice on this to reduce the risk of creating potentially unhelpful documents in the process.”
Adom added that being named and shamed would hold financial, legal and reputational risks.
She said: “It can be easy to think ‘who cares?’ But being on a named-and-shamed list could result in significant financial, legal and PR risk.
“Employers could face allegations that their failure to publish an action plan is indicative of a wider failure to take steps to prevent sexual harassment, leaving them exposed to both action by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and increased compensation being awarded in any subsequent claim for harassment.
“Of course, there is also the PR impact of potentially being seen as an employer which does not take seriously the need to address these issues.”