Sexual harassment is different to harassment related to a person's protected characteristic, for example sex, sexual orientation or gender reassignment. A person could experience both types of harassment at the same time, or separately.
Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. The law protects the following people against sexual harassment at work:
Employees and workers
Contractors and self-employed people hired to personally do the work
Job applicants.
To be sexual harassment, the unwanted behaviour must have either:
Violated someone's dignity
Created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for someone.
It can be sexual harassment if the behaviour:
Has one of these effects even if it was not intended
Intended to have one of these effects even if it did not have that effect.
As an employer it is your responsibility to take the necessary steps to prevent sexual harassment happening in the first instance. Those who sexually harass someone in the workplace are responsible for their own actions. However, employers can be responsible, and this is called vicarious liability. By law, employers must do everything they reasonably can to protect staff from sexual harassment.
To avoid claims of sexual harassment or constructive dismissal employers have a ‘duty of care’ to look after the wellbeing of their employees. Failure to do so could lead to a serious breach of an employee’s contract.
Complaints of any sexual harassment must be taken seriously, and investigations are to be handled in a way that is fair and sensitive to:
The person who made the complaint
Someone who witnessed it
Someone who's been accused of sexual harassment.
It is vital for employers to comply with any legal protections relating to sexual harassment, but they will need to go further if they are to take a prevention-based approach. Prevention requires not only a robust policy or training, but a culture centred on ethical values that is modelled by leaders and implemented by line managers.
Things to include when creating an anti-sexual harassment policy:
A definition of sexual harassment and examples of unacceptable behaviour
The responsibilities of employee groups such as managers to tackle sexual harassment
A clear and confidential procedure for reporting incidents and how these will be dealt with fairly and promptly
What support will be provided to victims, alleged perpetrators and bystanders, or witnesses, of sexual harassment
A process for reporting statistics on policy use and impact to senior leaders on a regular basis to monitor the workplace climate and incidents of sexual harassment, and to encourage a continuous improvement approach.
Any complaints of sexual harassment must be taken seriously and dealt with promptly and fairly. There should be a clear and defined process for making a complaint and dealing with them. Sexual harassment should be recognised as a particularly complex and sensitive issue and therefore it could be more effective to cover it in a standalone policy. However, one approach doesn’t work for everyone and it is important to do what works best for the organisation.