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PAE
Reducing the cost of
workplace conflict
A new Act comes into force in October placing duties on employers to
take ‘reasonable steps’ to protect employees from sexual harassment
ccording to ACAS, workplace conflict it to an employment tribunal all relate to
Acosts UK organisations £28.5bn a year – equality issues - race, disability and sexual
that’s an average of £1,000 per employee. harassment.
Multiply the number of employees by £1,000 While the Covid furlough scheme meant
and you have some idea of how much these fewer people were dismissed from their jobs,
disputes cost your organisation annually. This the number of sexual harassment claims
is sometimes nicknamed ‘conflict tax’. continued to rise during the pandemic years.
This is due in part to the ‘Me Too‘ movement
The headline statistics on workplace conflict empowering more people to speak out.
are staggering. Close to 10 million people
a year experience it and, of these, over half However, recent times have also seen the
suffer stress, anxiety or depression as a rise of ‘alpha male’ social media influencers
result. like Andrew Tate, who have fuelled a rise in
misogynistic behaviour which can often spill
Just under 900,000 take time off, nearly half over into the workplace.
a million resign, and more than 300,000 are
dismissed. To try to reverse that long-term trend, The
Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality
As well as the direct costs of lost productivity, Act 2010) Act 2023 will come into force on
formal grievance processes and conflict- 26 October 2024. This will place new duties
related resignations, there’s also the knock-on on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to
effect on organisational culture. A disgruntled protect employees from sexual harassment
employee can significantly impact the at work. It will also give tribunals the power
engagement levels of their colleagues and/or to increase compensation payments by up to
relationship with your clients.
25% if an employer breaches this duty.
After unfair dismissal, the most common
causes of workplace conflict that make
10 September 2024
