# Discrimination and harassment on site, your rights and what to do
Your rights here are stronger than most people on site realise. The law backs you, not the bloke hiding behind "banter". If you plan ahead a bit and keep records, you've got options, even if the harasser is your gaffer or a client.
Quick rule of thumb: you don't have to laugh it off, you don't have to swallow it, and you don't have to move off a site just so some bloke can keep his "banter": the law gives you tools, a duty on employers to prevent it, and protection if you stand up for yourself.
1. What the law actually protects you from
Direct and indirect discrimination
Under the Equality Act 2010, you're protected at work from:
- Direct discrimination · you're treated worse because you're a woman (or because of another protected characteristic like race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion, etc.).
- Example: "We don't put women on nights / on certain sites / in that role" when they do with equivalent men.
- Indirect discrimination · there's a rule or way of working that looks neutral but hits women harder and can't be justified.
- Example: "No toilets or changing areas on site" which effectively stops women working there; "you must lift heavy loads alone" when manual handling expectations aren't adjusted.
Harassment, what it means in law
Section 26 of the Equality Act says harassment is when someone engages in unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic (for example, sex, race, sexual orientation, gender reassignment), and that behaviour has the purpose or effect of either:
- Violating your dignity, or
- Creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you.
The "effect" bit is important, even if they claim they "didn't mean it like that", it can still be harassment if it lands that way and it was reasonable for you to feel as you did.
Examples in a construction setting:
- Sexual comments about your body, clothes, or sex life.
- Constant "jokes" about women not belonging on site.
- Porn on the walls in the welfare cabin.
- "Banter" about your race, sexuality, religion, trans status, disability.
Acas explains harassment is about how the behaviour makes you feel and whether it's linked to a protected characteristic, not whether management think it's "only a joke".
Victimisation, protection if you speak up
Section 27 of the Equality Act protects you from victimisation, being treated badly because you:
- Made a complaint of discrimination or harassment,
- Supported someone else's complaint, or
- Did anything else under the Equality Act (for example, gave evidence in a case).
Victimisation includes things like suddenly being taken off jobs or shifts, being refused training or promotion, or being sacked or pushed out because you complained. That's unlawful in itself, even if the original complaint isn't ultimately upheld.
2. Sexual harassment and the new employer duty
What sexual harassment is
Sexual harassment is any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the same "purpose or effect", violating your dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
On site, that covers:
- Sexual comments, propositions, touching, "accidental" brushing up, groping.
- Sexual jokes or gestures, porn on phones in your face, "rate the women" chats.
- Pressure to go for drinks, send photos, or "be a good sport" about sexual talk.
New Worker Protection Act 2023 duty
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 added a new section 40A: from 26 October 2024, employers have a positive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees during their work.
Key points:
- An employer must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment · for example, policies, training, clear reporting routes, acting on complaints.
- If they fail, tribunals can uplift any compensation by up to 25%.
- New rules will also tighten the expectation that employers deal with third-party harassment (for example, clients, subbies, agency workers) where they have control.
So a site or main contractor now has a duty to get ahead of sexual harassment, not just react reluctantly when someone finally complains.
3. "Banter" vs harassment, where the line is
Acas and recent case law are blunt about this: banter isn't a defence if you've crossed the line.
Banter is:
- Two-way, equal, and genuinely welcome.
- No protected characteristic or group is the punchline.
- You can opt out safely and people stop when you do.
Harassment is:
- Unwanted · you don't like it, or you've said stop.
- Linked to a protected characteristic (sex, race, orientation etc.), or sexual in nature.
- It makes you feel intimidated, humiliated or uncomfortable · and a reasonable person would see why.
Important bits:
- The impact on you matters more than the joker's intention.
- Standing there frozen or laughing nervously so you don't look "no fun" does not count as consent.
- Jokes about someone else can still be harassment if you hear them and they create a hostile environment for you.
If you don't find it funny, and you feel under pressure to put up with it, it's not banter, and the law is on your side.
4. How to protect yourself, records and reporting
Keep a diary from the moment it feels off
Even if you're not ready to complain yet, start a private log:
- Date and approximate time.
- Who was involved and who saw it.
- What was said or done · short, factual description.
- How it made you feel (embarrassed, intimidated, unsafe, humiliated).
If there are messages, photos or group chats: screenshot and save them off your work phone, preferably to your own secure email or cloud.
Tribunals and HR departments love contemporaneous notes, they show a pattern and are much harder to argue away.
Internal routes, if it's safe to use them
Every employer should have a bullying/harassment or grievance policy, often in the handbook.
If you feel able, first tell the person once, clearly:
"That's not ok, don't talk to me like that."
If they stop and apologise, you may not need to go further (but keep the note just in case).
If it continues or it's serious, escalate:
- Speak to your line manager, HR, or the H&S manager (harassment can be a safety issue).
- Put it in writing, short and factual, referencing "harassment" and "unwanted conduct" so they understand it's serious and linked to the Equality Act.
If the harasser is your line manager or site manager, go:
- Above them (regional manager, HR).
- Sideways via H&S or a trusted senior person.
- Directly to your union rep if you have one.
When it's a client, principal contractor or subbie
The Equality Act can still catch third-party harassment (clients, main contractors, agency colleagues) now the Worker Protection Act duty is in play, especially where your employer didn't take reasonable steps to prevent it.
- Report it to your employer in writing.
- Make it clear the harasser is a named person from [client/main contractor/subbie] and that you expect your employer to protect you and raise it formally with them.
- They can't just shrug and say "he doesn't work for us" any more.
5. Employment tribunal route, how it actually works
If internal routes and support don't fix it, or you're pushed out or punished, you can go to an employment tribunal.
Time limit, 3 months less 1 day
Most discrimination, harassment and victimisation claims must be lodged within 3 months minus 1 day of the last act complained of. In ongoing patterns, the "last act" is often the latest incident in the chain.
Acas Early Conciliation, compulsory first step
Before you can lodge a claim, you must contact Acas for Early Conciliation. This pauses the time limit while Acas tries to broker a settlement (up to about 6 weeks). If no deal, Acas gives you a certificate and the clock restarts, you usually get at least 1 extra month from the certificate date to lodge your claim.
Costs
There are currently no tribunal fees for bringing an employment claim. You can represent yourself, use a union lawyer or pay a solicitor (no-win-no-fee in some cases).
Outcomes
If you win, remedies can include compensation for financial loss and injury to feelings, and sometimes recommendations that the employer changes policies. Under the Worker Protection Act changes, if they failed in their duty to prevent sexual harassment, awards can be uplifted by up to 25%.
Tip for new starters Get advice early from Acas or EASS, they can help you work out if what you're experiencing fits the Equality Act tests and how strong your evidence is.
6. Protection against retaliation
The law doesn't just protect you from the original behaviour, it protects you from payback for raising it.
Victimisation under the Equality Act makes it unlawful to treat you badly because you complained, supported someone else, or did anything connected to Equality Act rights.
That includes demotion, worse shifts, being frozen out, being sacked or your contract not renewed because you raised harassment. Tribunals take victimisation seriously, sometimes more seriously than the original complaint, because it shows the employer punishing someone for using their rights.
If you suspect this is happening:
- Add those actions to your log (what changed, when, who decided).
- Make a fresh written complaint specifically naming victimisation · that word tells HR and lawyers exactly what they're dealing with.
7. Construction-specific realities
You don't work in an office with HR down the corridor. You work in a world of layered contractors, subbies, agency workers, and sites that shut down or move on. That makes it more important to:
- Keep your own records · don't rely on site paperwork that disappears when the job ends.
- Know who actually employs you · the company paying you (or your agency) is usually the one you claim against, even if the abuse is on a main contractor's site.
- Use the health and safety angle · harassment and bullying are a safety risk. If you're distracted, intimidated or avoiding certain areas, you're more likely to get hurt. HSE and big clients take that seriously even when site managers roll their eyes.
Research and union surveys show this isn't rare background noise: a recent Unite-linked survey reported around a third of women in construction had experienced sexual assault at work, with many more reporting harassment or bullying. You're not the only one, and regulators know it.
What to do next
- Start a private log today if anything has already happened · date, who, what, how it made you feel. Keep it off your work phone.
- If it happens again, say something once, clearly: "That's not ok · don't talk to me like that." Then log their response.
- If it continues, put it in writing to your employer referencing "harassment" and "unwanted conduct related to [sex/race/etc.]" · that triggers their legal obligations.
- If you're thinking about a tribunal claim, contact Acas (0300 123 1100) for Early Conciliation within 3 months minus 1 day of the last incident · don't miss the deadline.
Sources
- Equality Act 2010, Sections 13, 19, 26, 27 · legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents · direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation.
- Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 · legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/51/contents · new employer duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment (section 40A), 25% compensation uplift.
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 · legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/contents · principal contractor welfare and safety duties.
- Acas guidance on harassment and bullying · definitions, employer duties, reporting and Early Conciliation.
- TUC research on women and harassment in construction · survey data on prevalence.
- Unite survey data · approximately one third of women in construction reporting sexual assault at work.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 · legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/37/contents · general duty of care including psychological safety.
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