The government has been urged to protect vulnerable workers amid suggestions that ministers may backtrack on plans to strengthen workplace sexual harassment laws.
The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Paul Nowak, said it would be “shameful” to drop the worker protection bill due a backlash by Tory politicians, who claim that the new rules will force business owners to run their firms like a “police state”.
Ministers are reportedly planning to drop the bill without a credible backup to strengthen protection for staff.
“It would be utterly shameful if the government allows this bill to fall,” Nowak said on Sunday. “Ministers promised to bring in new laws to tackle sexual harassment, but now appear to be backsliding. Let’s not forget – women are experiencing sexual harassment and abuse on an industrial scale.”
Supporters of the bill have said these kinds of rules would have given protections to women caught up in scandals including the Presidents Club dinner in 2018, where female hostesses were allegedly told to wear “black, sexy” underwear, and subsequently accused customers – who included prominent business figures – of sexual harassment.
The TUC warned the prime minister that dropping the bill would put vulnerable staff at risk. “Rishi Sunak must not abandon vulnerable staff. These protections are essential,” Nowak said. “We know many in public-facing jobs – like shop workers and GP receptionists – suffer abuse and harassment regularly from clients and customers.”
Plans to drop the bill, first reported by the Telegraph, come after Conservative politicians raised concerns that employers would be at risk of costly lawsuits, given that it contained rules that would make firms liable harassment or “banter” by third parties such as customers.
Some Tory members said it could lead to bookshops not inviting authors such as JK Rowling to speak at events owing to fears that they could be sued by employees.
TUC research published last year found that two in five people from black or minority ethnic backgrounds faced racism in the workplace over the last five years, ranging from “banter” and jokes through to bullying and harassment.
The Cabinet Office did not directly respond to questions about whether it planned to drop the bill. A government spokesperson said there was no place for harassment of any kind and the bill was aimed at strengthening protection against third-party harassment in the workplace.
The spokesperson added: “We are aware of concerns raised by some parliamentarians about the balance the bill strikes between protecting free speech and tackling harassment. We have made amendments to the bill to address these concerns but will study closely any amendments in parliament.”
Concerns about worker protections come amid explosive allegations of sexual harassment at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which have rocked the business lobby group and thrown its future into question.
The detailed allegations from more than a dozen people, first reported by the Guardian, include one of rape and another of attempted assault. Others included a manager sending explicit images to junior female staff, and a former board member touching a woman’s bottom and making what was seen as a sexualised remark.
The CBI director general, Tony Danker, has also been put on leave – but is still collecting his £376,000 salary – amid allegations made by a female employee who said he made unwanted contact with her, and considered that to be sexual harassment.
The government has suspended its engagement with the CBI, which has also called off member’s events, as it awaits the conclusions of an external investigation expected this week.
The CBI has said it “has treated and continues to treat all matters of workplace conduct with the utmost seriousness, which is why … we commissioned a thorough investigation by an independent law firm into all recent allegations that have been put to us”. Danker said he apologises “profusely” for any offence he caused, and that it was “completely unintentional”.
