Following changes to the law, employers are now under strict legal obligations to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This is a positive and proactive duty and includes responding to any allegations of sexual harassment properly. With that in mind, our HR specialists have prepared this Sexual Harassment Investigation Template for employers to use as a guide when preparing their own.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to employers complying with their legal obligation. What will be deemed as acting reasonably depends on several factors, such as the size and nature of the organisation. To ensure compliance with your legal duties, you should take advice from HR experts like ours who can help you prepare a comprehensive Sexual
Harassment Investigation Template bespoke to your business.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
Sexual Harassment Investigation Template
When you receive a complaint of sexual harassment, you should open a sexual harassment investigation, keeping the following guidance in mind:
1. You Must Act Immediately To Resolve The Complaint
Prompt, decisive action will reassure the complainant that you are taking the matter seriously and ensures you comply with your legal duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
However, there is a difference between acting swiftly and acting in haste. While you should ensure you look into the matter as a priority, you should not rush into an investigation without careful consideration of important matters, such as who should undertake the investigation.
2. You Must Respect The Confidentiality Of All Parties
While you should not guarantee the anonymity of the parties, you should seek to protect them insofar as possible, particularly when the facts of the matter are yet to be established.
3. You Must Protect The Complainant From Ongoing Harassment Or Victimisation While You Undertake Your Investigation
To ensure the complainant is not exposed to any ongoing harm from the alleged perpetrator while you conduct your investigation, you should suspend the alleged perpetrator while you investigate. They would be suspended on full pay. They should not be working from home. You should not suspend the person who made the accusation. You need the alleged perpetrator out of the organization while you investigate, otherwise their colleagues will not speak freely and you will not find out what has been going on.
4. If The Alleged Sexual Harassment Amounts To A Criminal Offence, You Should Report The Incident To The Police
If the alleged incident is serious (e.g. actual assault), you must report it to the police, whether the complainant wants you to or not. You should not put your own investigation on hold while the police carry out their enquiries. You are not doing a criminal investigation, you are just trying to work out, on a balance of probabilities, if the incident occurred.
5. Speak To All The Staff In That Department
Even if the complainant says there were no witnesses to their incident, you need to ask open questions of everyone who has interacted with the alleged perpetrator, as they may have suffered similar harassment but not thought that they could report it. You should ask general open questions such as “Have you seen any inappropriate behaviour between colleagues?”. We can help you craft those questions so that we get information without out telling the staff what we want to hear.
6. Speak To The Alleged Perpetrator
Once you have all the information from your investigation, then arrange an investigation meeting, in person or on video link, to go through the information you have gathered and to hear the alleged perpetrator’s version of events. Depending on how this meeting goes, you would invite the perpetrator to a disciplinary meeting, to be carried out by a different manager.
7. Make Your Decision About The Next Steps
Do not try and be “fair” in this decision. You are deciding, on a balance of probabilities, whether the incident occurred as described by the complainant. It is not a 50:50 decision. If the complainant has given you a lot of details about the incident, and the perpetrator has said “No that didn’t happen” but without out any more details, or “I don’t remember, I was so drunk” then the person who gave you the details is correct. The statement “I don’t remember” does NOT have the same weight as a two page letter full of details and timings.
8. Promptly Inform The Complainant About The Outcome Of Your Investigation/Their Grievance
You should ensure you notify the complainant of the outcome of your investigation promptly. Let them know that they have the right of appeal. The alleged perpetrator should know about their outcome after the complainant does, not before.
How We Can Help
Our team of HR experts specialises in helping small businesses like yours to navigate the intricacies of employment law and HR practices and procedures. We have an exceptional reputation for offering straightforward, commercial advice aimed at keeping our clients Tribunal-free.
Our support and guidance will ensure that you understand and implement the measures you must take to comply with your new legal duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Where necessary, we will devise a Sexual Harassment Investigation Template for you to refer to as and when a complaint is received. That Sexual Harassment Investigation Template will be tailored to your organisation and will act as a prompt for anyone undertaking an investigation, to ensure their compliance with the law. That way, you can be confident that anyone tasked with the job has all the information they need to carry out a legally compliant sexual harassment investigation.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
