Member

I also note that Clauses 19 to 21 amend the Equality Act 2010, meaning that their regulation would naturally fall under the jurisdiction of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. I recognise that the EHRC is believed by His Majesty’s Government to be better placed to regulate harassment, with the police then handling complaints of workplace sexual harassment, but I take issue with this argument. First, the EHRC’s mandate limits its ability to address the health and safety implications of gender-based violence in the workplace because the Equality Act addresses sexual harassment as discrimination and does so at the exclusion of other forms of gender-based violence, leaving them without real regulation. The EHRC also has weak enforcement powers and resources in this respect and is unable to impose fines on employers.