Anti-Harassment & Sexual Harassment Policy

RD1 is committed to a working environment — for its own staff, placed workers, candidates, and anyone dealing with the business — that is free from harassment and sexual harassment, in line with the Equality Act 2010 and the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023.

Since October 2024, employers have a proactive legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of employment — this is a higher bar than simply dealing with complaints after the fact. RD1 meets this duty by assessing where harassment risk may arise (including at client sites, during placements, and in remote/hybrid working), taking practical preventative steps, and treating this as an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-off exercise.

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity) that violates a person's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature and is treated with the same seriousness, whether it comes from a colleague, a manager, a client, a candidate, or any third party RD1 staff or placed workers come into contact with in the course of their work.

Because RD1 places workers with client organisations, this policy explicitly covers harassment by people who are not RD1 employees — a client's staff, a client's customers, or a candidate — where it occurs in connection with an RD1 placement or engagement. Workers and staff are encouraged to report this in exactly the same way as harassment by an RD1 colleague, and RD1 will act on it with the client where appropriate, including ending a placement where necessary to protect a worker.

Concerns can be raised with a Director, via our Complaints Policy, or confidentially via our Whistleblowing Policy where appropriate. All concerns are treated seriously, investigated promptly and proportionately, and handled with as much confidentiality as the circumstances allow.

No one who raises a genuine concern about harassment in good faith will suffer any detriment as a result, including where the concern relates to a client or third party rather than an RD1 colleague.

Harassment or sexual harassment by an RD1 employee or worker is treated as gross misconduct and may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal or termination of engagement. Where the conduct involves a client or third party, RD1 will take proportionate action, which may include raising the matter formally with the client or ending the commercial relationship.

The Directors are responsible for this policy, for keeping RD1's preventative steps under review as required by the Worker Protection Act 2023, and for ensuring concerns are handled fairly and promptly.