Are you doing enough to prevent harassment in your workplace?

According to a recent CIPD report, ‘How employers are tackling bullying and harassment at work’, 25% of employees have experienced conflict or abuse in the last 12 months. Here, we look at what harassment is, how an employer can be liable, and what steps an employer can take to prevent it occurring in the workplace. 

What is harassment?

Harassment is unwanted conduct that relates to someone’s disability, race, religion, pregnancy/maternity, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, or marriage/civil partnership. Sexual harassment is when a person is subjected to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. The unwanted conduct must also have the purpose or effect of violating their dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. It doesn’t matter if the behaviour was not intended to have that effect, if it does, then that could amount to harassment.

Harassment can take many forms; verbal and written, electronic and mobile phone communications (for example, Facebook postings and texts), physical contact, display of offensive material, intimidation and intrusion (for example, stalking).

Can an employer be held liable for acts of harassment?

Yes, an employer can be held vicariously liable for acts of their employees when carried out “in the course of employment”. This is the case even if the employer does not know or approve of those acts.

When faced with a harassment claim in an employment tribunal, an employer will usually try to argue that they should not be held liable because they have taken “all reasonable steps” to prevent the harassment from taking place.

From 26 October 2024, employers will also be under a preventative duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Once in force, a complaint can be made to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). They will have the power to take enforcement action against the employer. Also, if a claim for sexual harassment is brought, the employment tribunal must consider if and to what extent the employer has complied with the preventative duty. If they find that it has been breached, it may increase the compensation awarded by up to 25%.

So, it’s important that employers take steps to prevent harassment from occurring in the first place and have clear procedures in place if a concern is raised.

Check out BrAInbox for instant answers to questions like:

When does the new duty on employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment start?

Is harassment always from spoken words?

How do I get my managers to live and breathe my anti-harassment policy?

Steps an employer can take:

The steps an employer takes to prevent harassment in the workplace will vary from organisation to organisation. A risk assessment needs to be carried out to assess what the risks are for that specific organisation, then for the steps to minimise those risks to be identified, and reasonable steps implemented. It may include having a policy in place and delivering training to staff on a regular basis.

If a concern or complaint is raised, then they should be taken seriously and fully investigated. It is also important to check that there are policies and procedures in place and ensure that they are followed where relevant. Also, make sure that the employee knows about any support that is available, such as access to an Employee Assistance Programme.

It's not just about implementing measures and then walking away. They need to be reviewed and the effectiveness assessed on a regular basis.

Our HR documentation team can support you with implementing policies in your workplace and if any concerns are raised about harassment, then reach out to our HR Advisory Team for advice on the best next steps to take.