"Having a Proactive duty on employers to keep their workplace free of sexual harassment is, in principle, a very good step forward.

The way in which it's formulated is that the employer must take on all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and the key issue is what are all those reasonable steps?"

In the sixth episode of the Institute of Employment Rights podcast, equality and discrimination experts Professor Sandy Fredman and Dr. Joe Atkinson analyse the Labour Party's proposed changes to equality legislation and their impact on workers through the Employment Rights Bill, the Equality Race and Disability Bill, and other forthcoming legislation.

The discussion, hosted by IER director James Harrison, covers new proactive duties on employers to prevent sexual harassment, the implications of extending paternity leave, the impact of mandatory pay gap reporting for ethnicity and disability, and the socioeconomic duty on public bodies.

The episode also explores the challenges posed by AI in the workplace, including the need for regulatory measures to ensure compliance with employment laws and equality standards.

Chapters;

00:00 Welcome

07:33 Equality Action Plans

10:25 Including outsourced workers in pay gap reporting

12:52 Changes to paternal leave

23:12 AI and equality in the workplace

28:05 Socio-economic duty - will it finally be enacted?

32:59 Thank you for joining the debate

Credits:

The IER podcast is sponsored by Thompsons Solicitors.

For Thompsons resources and advice on Trade Union law visit thompsonstradeunion.law

This podcast is produced for IER by Creative Kin.

To find out more, visit creativekin.co.uk.

Recorded at Creative Kin's London studios.

Studio Producer and Editor: Jason Caffrey

Theme Music: Daniel Jorgensen