Is this the end of the staff social?

Recently, a former Linklaters employee was barred from practising as a solicitor, by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), for kissing and groping a colleague after a staff social.

The SRA considered that such behaviour amounted to serious sexual misconduct as it involved ‘physical contact and intentional actions which were repeated and which were directed at a junior colleague’. Linklaters reportedly informed the SRA of the incident and dismissed the individual with immediate effect.

This incident occurred in 2023; now the legal landscape is significantly different following the introduction of a new positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The duty was introduced in October 2024. Seven months on, what have we learnt?  

The legislation 

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 means that employers have a ‘duty to take reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The new positive duty came into force on 26 October 2024, and has implications for all employers, not just large ones. 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published updated technical guidance and an 8-step guide for employers. So far, there has been no case law on the matter, as far as we are aware. 

Acas, or the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, provides examples of sexual harassment in the workplace, such as:

• making sexual remarks about someone’s body, clothing or appearance;

• asking questions about someone’s sex life;

• telling sexually offensive jokes, making sexual comments or jokes about someone’s sexual orientation or gender reassignment;

• displaying or sharing pornographic or sexual images, or other sexual content;

• touching someone against their will, for example, hugging them; and

• sexual assault or rape.

How do employers comply with the duty? 

The new duty requires a proactive approach to preventing sexual harassment, putting in measures to avoid harassment, before any sexual harassment has occurred.

What does this mean in practice? There are strong parallels with Health and Safety legislation here. The starting point is to risk assess, to identify the risk areas. The guidance from EHRC states that: ‘An employer is unlikely to be able to comply with the preventative duty unless they carry out a risk assessment’.   

The risk assessment should look at: 

1. The workforce. We know that certain groups, such as the young, disabled, zero-hours workers and migrant workers are particularly susceptible to sexual harassment.

2. The working environment. Key questions here could be are workers isolated, do they visit third parties, is alcohol present?

3. Activities outside of work. Key questions here could be do workers socialise together, do they have overnight stays, do they use social media, is there a culture of disrespectful banter? 

4. The management structure and reporting lines. Are there strong hierarchies, is there leadership diversity, are there clear lines of reporting?

From this risk assessment, ‘reasonable steps’ can be identified and then put in place to prevent harassment. Reasonable steps could include:

• putting in place a policy and ensuring that staff are aware of it; 

• training staff about the duty; 

• targeted training for managers; 

• putting in clear reporting mechanisms, so that issues can be raised easily (and confidentiality), without reprimand or ridicule; 

• stopping drinking at work events; 

• booking taxis to take staff home from work events. 

What is reasonable will depend on a variety of factors, including the size and resources of the employer, whether concerns have been addressed before, the risks in the workplace, etc (see para 3.32 of the guidance). However, over time the risk assessment and measures will need to be reviewed and refreshed, in order to remain dynamic and address changes in the risks. And, importantly, a clear paper trail is required.

Had the Linklaters incident occurred after October 2024, Linklaters would need to assess what went wrong by reviewing its risk assessment and then putting in new measures, such as additional training to address the risk.

What happens if employers do not comply? 

Failure to comply with the new duty could result in enforcement action by the EHRC, regardless of whether there is a complaint of sexual harassment. In March 2025, all 1,400 branches of McDonald’s were warned that if they did not comply with their legal duties, they risked enforcement action by the EHRC. Time will tell whether the EHRC’s threats become a reality.

At the Tribunal, the duty does not provide a standalone claim, but where there is an ordinary harassment claim under the Equality Act 2010, the Employment Tribunal can increase compensation by up to 25% for failure to comply with the new duty.  Given there is no cap on compensation for harassment claims, this could be a significant sum. 

Is this the end of the staff social? 

Personally, I do not think so. The benefit of the staff social for morale, team building, etc, far outweighs the risk of any sexual harassment claim. However, this duty does require employers to think about things a little more carefully. To assess, plan and educate.  

However, the duty will be expanded under the Employment Rights Bill (ERB), which is due to gain Royal Assent later this year and will be implemented in early 2026. The ERB will require employers to undertake ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment and will re-introduce employer liability for third-party harassment in relation to all relevant protected characteristics, a significant uplift of the bar. 

So, perhaps it is fair to say that the staff social days are potentially numbered…

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