A crucial aspect of your role as an employer is understanding how to deal with sexual harassment at work. Under new laws, if you fail to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, you run the risk of paying a higher amount of compensation to employees who bring successful Tribunal proceedings.
At Gap HR, our expert HR and employment law practitioners frequently advise employers on how to deal with sexual harassment at work. Whether you require help with implementing an appropriate policy, understanding what measures you should put in place, or addressing a complaint of sexual harassment, our advisors are on hand to offer the targeted, pragmatic advice you need at highly competitive rates.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
How To Deal With Sexual Harassment At Work – Preventative Steps
Employers have a legal obligation to put reasonable measures in place to prevent sexual harassment in their organisation. There are no hard and fast rules you must follow to comply with this duty since what might be deemed ‘reasonable’ depends on several factors unique to your business, such as the industry you operate in, the size of your organisation, and any specific risk factors.
You must identify any risk, consider the measures you might take to mitigate it, and decide whether those measures are reasonable in the context of your commercial reality. This can be a complex task, but our HR advisors are specialists in the field and can assist you in carrying it out.
Depending on the results of our risk assessment, the types of steps we might advise you to take include the following:
- Implementing a sexual harassment policy, coupled with providing regular employee training, to ensure they understand your expectations and the standards of behaviour expected of them.
- Encouraging anyone who has experienced an incident of sexual harassment, whether themselves or as a witness, to make a complaint and ensuring everyone knows how to do so.
- Putting measures in place to ensure anyone who feels threatened can raise an alarm easily.
How To Handle A Sexual Harassment Complaint
Unfortunately, instances of sexual harassment can occur despite any reasonable steps taken to prevent it. If you receive a sexual harassment complaint, knowing how to handle it effectively is crucial. You must ensure those tasked with addressing such complaints do so swiftly, take each and every one seriously, and handle them sensitively and fairly.
Ideally, you will have a clear policy dealing with sexual harassment which details the steps to take when a complaint is received. If you do, you must follow that procedure.
You must keep an open mind when following your sexual harassment procedure and embark on the process with no preconceived ideas about either the complainant or the alleged perpetrator. The types of acts that can constitute sexual harassment in a legal sense are wide and varied, so even if you do not consider the behaviour offensive, it may still amount to sexual harassment and must be properly addressed.
When looking into a sexual harassment complaint, you must give all parties involved the opportunity to tell you their version of events. You must gather any evidence relevant to the issue to ensure your decision is balanced, fair, and beyond reproach.
The Consequences Of Not Understanding How To Deal With Sexual Harassment At Work
Failing to comply with your legal obligations in respect of preventing sexual harassment in your workplace does not, in itself, expose you to a Tribunal claim. However, if an employee makes a sexual harassment claim, they can highlight your failings as part of their claim. If their claim subsequently succeeds, and if the Tribunal finds that you had failed to take steps that would have been reasonable in the context of your organisation, it may award the employee a higher level of compensation. That increase can be up to 25%, and since compensation in sexual harassment cases is uncapped, this uplift may be substantial.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission also has the power to look into whether an employer is complying with its legal obligations, and to take enforcement action against any employer found to be in breach.
In addition to the legal ramifications of breaching your duty, reputational and motivational issues can arise. If employees do not feel protected from sexual harassment at work, their willingness to give 100% to their roles can diminish, and some may even look for alternative employment. Furthermore, your reputation outside of your organisation, for example, among suppliers and consumers, can suffer, which will have a knock-on effect on your profitability.
Call us now on 01491 598 600 or Click Here to Make An Enquiry and we will be delighted to help you.
