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After recent reports of widespread harassment in several large organisations, many employers are reviewing their current policies and assessing what more they can do to stop this happening within their own workforce.
The law
Harassment is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010, where it is associated with an individuals “protected characteristics” such as sex, race, age or religion (amongst others). Beyond that, employers also have a general duty of care towards their employees to protect their wellbeing and ensure their work, workplace, colleagues, and their interactions with all three, maintain their health and safety and don’t cause them to suffer mentally.
What the law does not require, however, is for employers to have a specific policy on harassment. Nevertheless, it is still highly recommended that your client goes beyond a basic disciplinary policy and introduces something specific in relation to harassment: otherwise, they risk their expectations regarding harassment becoming lost within other conduct issues, which could ultimately lead to successful claims against the business by employees for not protecting them at work.
Taking action against harassment
Having a dedicated policy that outlines a definition of harassment, when it can occur, and what the consequences of it can be, is a great starting point. However, to ensure it is actually effective in stopping harassment happening within their workforce, they will need to go a lot further than simply handing this out to staff. Below we outline the steps your client should take to maximise the effectiveness of their anti-harassment efforts:
1. Make sure the policy is freely available to all staff, and they are encouraged to read and refer back to it when necessary.
2. Training is vital for everyone in the business on harassment. They should become familiar with its contents, be aware of what harassment is, and know how to report it if it happens. The consequences of committing it should also be reinforced, as should the message that the business takes a zero-tolerance stance on this issue.
3. Get everyone involved in tackling harassment. Employees should be encouraged to be vigilant to it happening, and should it occur know to whom they should report it. Making it everyone’s responsibility to prevent and report harassment and ensuring an effective mechanism for doing this will make sure your client doesn’t miss anything important.
4. Take action when its needed. A zero-tolerance stance must be backed up with action, or employees will not take it seriously. Your client should take swift and robust action if it becomes apparent that harassment has occurred, subject to a fair and through investigation, of course.
5. Repeat all of the above as often as necessary. To ensure the anti-harassment message remains strong, your client should provide training updates on a regular basis, and ensure the message is clear throughout their actions, interactions with staff and documentation: the organisation takes a zero-tolerance stance on harassment.
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