Protect doctors from sexual harassment by making employers liable – HCSA

Library image. Credit: Getty/Meyer & Meyer

By Erin Dean

Stronger laws are needed to make employers responsible for protecting doctors from sexual harassment, according to a report.

The Hospital Consultants and Specialist Association (HCSA) said there have been welcome legal and regulatory changes, but they do not go far enough.

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which places a new preventative duty on employers, comes into force on Saturday.

But provisions in the draft Bill to make employers legally liable for protecting their staff against third-party harassment were opposed in the Lords and removed from the legislation, the organisation said.

“Frustratingly, the new Act coming into force falls short,” said HCSA national officer Isslia Roberts. “The current legal tests and thresholds are too high to be effective in practice, and therefore act as a barrier to providing employees with sufficient protection.”

In an HCSA survey, 71% of 319 respondents said they had seen or witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace.