Lidl Great Britain has entered into a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to strengthen its safeguards against sexual harassment, two years after an employment tribunal ruled the discounter failed to protect a female employee.

The section 23 deal compels Lidl to survey staff on workplace harassment, monitor informal complaints, reassess historic cases from 2023 and 2024 and review its policies, training and risk assessments. The EHRC will track compliance under the preventative duty introduced by the Worker Protection Act.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the regulator, said employers must be able to demonstrate concrete action against misconduct. “Every employer has a legal duty to prevent sexual harassment and they must be able to prove they’ve taken reasonable steps to do so,” she said, announcing the pact on Thursday.

The Oxfordshire tribunal in 2023 identified a “culture of harassment” at one Lidl branch, noting managers were unaware of company guidelines and had carried out no risk assessment while the victim’s requests for a transfer were rejected. Lidl has since expanded anti-harassment training and completed its first risk audit in cooperation with the EHRC.

A Lidl spokesperson said the retailer “continually look[s] for opportunities to drive improvements” and welcomed the chance to work with the regulator to refine processes “that will further support our values and colleague experience”..

Kate Palmer, employment services director at consultancy Peninsula, called the move a warning shot for businesses. “The EHRC’s intervention with Lidl makes it very clear – employers must take their obligations to prevent sexual harassment seriously,” she told People Management, adding that the agreement “sets an important example to all other employers”.

Under the Equality Act 2010, companies are liable for harassment if they cannot show they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. The new preventative duty raises the compliance bar by removing the need for an incident before enforcement action.

The agreement obliges Lidl to meet regularly with its diversity, equity and inclusion groups, develop a system to spot trends in informal complaints and keep its risk assessment under review. Failure to deliver could prompt the EHRC to seek a court order.

The watchdog said the pact demonstrates its willingness to use statutory powers to ensure workplaces are “safe and respectful” and that it will “continue to use our unique powers … to ensure everyone can work without fear of sexual harassment”.

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