Pub bosses may have to become ‘banter cops’ to stop themselves from being sued by staff who are offended by customers under Labour’s new reforms.
Business leaders have warned that the incoming Employment Rights Bill will make employers liable for their staff being offended by the public.
Bosses will legally have to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment by third parties relating to protected characteristics, including sex, gender reassignment or age.
But Free Speech campaigners believe this will force pub staff into the role of ‘banter cops’ who have to ban customers for telling inappropriate jokes when they harass those who are working there.
They believe the Bill will also lead to universities giving in to criticism over controversial guest speakers.
The Worker Protection Act is due to take effect on 26 October and will place a duty on firms to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
Under Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s planned overhaul of workers’ rights, Labour wants to upgrade the duty on employers to ‘all reasonable steps’.
This was how the legislation was initially drafted before being watered down by peers in the House of Lords as it passed through Parliament.
Prior to the general election, Labour vowed to return the duty to its tougher wording as part of their ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ to be implemented with 100 days of winning power.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, told The Telegraph ‘there are jokes and people are boisterous’ in pubs because it is a ‘social environment’.
She said while bosses want to protect their staff, they don’t want to be ‘policing’ customers’ behaviour.
The changes go further than the original Equality Act of 2010, which made employers liable for third-party harassment after three incidents. This was removed entirely in 2013.
James Murray, legal director at the law firm Doyle Clayton told the newspaper the changes may mean a ‘controversial gender critical speaker, like Julie Bindel or Kathleen Stock’ will be prevented from speeches at universities.
He said: ‘The concern is that this will shift the balance away from free speech and universities will be more risk averse as they won’t want to be held liable for third-party harassment.’
Professor James Tooley, the vice-chancellor of Buckingham University, said the Bill is ‘deeply worrying’ as he wants to ‘invite people with a whole range of views’.
Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, said it amounts to a ‘snowflakes’ charter’ and fears businesses will have to make staff eavesdrop on conversations to bar offensive customers.
James Davies, an employment partner at Lewis Silkin, told that clients had been raising concerns about the implications of the changes.
He added that ‘all’ preventative measures could include a crackdown on boozy work events.
‘It means they have to be seen to go even further – such as perhaps looking at any work event where alcohol will be consumed and mitigating harassment risks,’ he told the newspaper.
‘Mitigating steps could be warning staff beforehand of expected behaviour, ensuring anyone who feels uncomfortable knows how to respond and perhaps even restricting excessive alcohol consumption.’
Mr Davies added that many staff ‘don’t realise that a work event is an extension of the workplace, potentially even where staff agree to go to the pub after work and it isn’t organised by the employer.’
Nicholas Le Riche, a partner at BDB Pitmans, said the legislation would mark a ‘significant change’ for employers and could affect all ‘team building events’ and not just after-work drinks.
Ms Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds last week met with senior trade union officials and business organisations to discuss their workers’ rights overhaul as part of their Plan to Make Work Pay.
Business leaders warned of ‘real damage’ to the UK economy if Labour rushed through its planned reforms.