Two things are about to intertwine, and I’m fearing the worst:
- The new sexual harassment laws, which came into force last month
- Christmas
The festive season has long been a hotbed for sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour, so before silly season arrives, I thought it best just to drop you some information to help you navigate it as best you can.
Remember, the new laws mean you are now required to demonstrate that you’ve taken preventative measures to stop sexual harassment happening in the workplace; failure to do so will mean running the risk of additional reward given to a claimant in tribunal.
So here’s our starter for 10:
- We strongly recommend F&B staff are given permission/told to report all instances of sexual harassment, touching, words, etc to the police, to you, and to your HR provider.
It might feel a bit much reporting to the police. But although it’s unlikely that they will come out, each report will go in a log, and after the fifth, fifteenth, twentieth time the police WILL come out to find out what is going on. Sexual harassment, misogynistic statements are illegal as hate crimes.
- Complete a risk assessment to ascertain the risks of sexual harassment in the workplace, and what can be done to mitigate them.
- Complete anti-harassment bystander training, for free
https://www.suzylamplugh.org/Pages/Events/Category/events
- Improve your knowledge on what constitutes sexual harassment. The BBC has an insightful drama that I highly recommend watching
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p06x0jv5/is-this-sexual-harassment
- Implement a zero tolerance policy for staff and members, and put up signs to make sure everyone is aware.
Do all of the above, and should the worst happen, you can feel much more confident that you’ve done all you can, and that you’re in a stronger position to deal with any issues that come up.
And if the above demonstrates you’ve got gaps that need filling in, hit reply and we’ll do what we can do to help.
