Harassment in the workplace has serious repercussions not only for the employee affected in terms of potential physical, emotional and financial harm, but also from the perspective of the employer where it can lead to staff sickness, absenteeism, effects on productivity or performance, resignations, reduction in morale, and damage to your brand or adverse publicity off the back of any allegations of harassment being made out.

A recent global survey suggested that 17.9% of employed men and women said that they had experienced psychological violence and harassment in their working life, and 8.5% have faced physical violence and harassment, with more men than women experiencing this.

So what is harassment, and as an employer, what can I do to reduce the risk of harassment taking place in my workplace?

What is Harassment? 

The Equality Act 2010 (the “Act”) defines harassment where a person engages in unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic and that conduct has the purpose or effect of violating a persons dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that other person.

The protected characteristics as defined in the Act are as follows:

1. Age;

2. Disability;

3. Gender reassignment;

4. Marriage and Civil Partnership;

5. Pregnancy and maternity;

6. Race;

7. Religion or belief;

8. Sex;

9. Sexual Orientation.

The Act prohibits three types of harassment:

• Harassment related to a protected characteristic;

• Sexual harassment;

• Less favourable treatment because the employee rejects or submits to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or that is related to gender reassignment or sex.

Whether or not the conduct undertaken is deemed to be harassment is often considered by undertaking a three-stage test:

1. How it made the person feel;

2. The circumstances of the matter; and

3. Whether it was reasonable for the conduct undertaken to have that effect.

So as an employer, what are my duties in respect of harassment in the workplace?

Employers have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to take reasonable steps to look after the health, safety and welfare of their employees.

They also have a duty of care to look after the wellbeing of their employees and failure to comply with those duties could result in a breach of an employee’s contract.

Therefore, in the case of harassment, employers should do all that they reasonably can to try to prevent harassment from taking place in the workplace.

Although an individual who harasses another at work is responsible for their own actions, employers could be held responsible too by way of vicarious liability, in particular if they did not do all that they could to have prevented the harassment from taking place.

Employers may face claims of constructive dismissal, discrimination or civil claims for personal injury and loss if they fail to act accordingly.

What can I do as an employer to reduce the risk of harassment in the workplace?

• Have in place clear anti-harassment and bullying policies and keep them up to date;

• Provide training to your staff and ensure that it is regularly delivered and refreshed if particular issues in the workplace arise;

• Create a culture of anti-harassment and set examples from the top down;

• Identify harassment and be alive to harassment – know the warning signs;

• Have in place a clear and effective process for investigating allegations – staff should know where to go, what to do, and feel free to report matters if they are faced with either being subject to, or have witnessed harassment;

• Take reports seriously and investigate promptly and accordingly;

• Provide support to employees who have been impacted by any such allegations.

There seems to be a growing awareness in society in terms of what constitutes harassment and there is growing pressure on employers to reflect this awareness and to help their staff where possible to spot the signs of harassment, to deal with any allegations effectively, and to take action that reinforces a zero tolerance culture within the workplace.

Should you have any concerns about how to reduce the risk of harassment taking place in the workplace, how to protect your employees in the light of such situations occurring, or have any other queries with regards to your duties as an employer to protect your employees in the face of harassment, please do not hesitate to contact the Team at Prettys.

Webinar Recording of "Harassment in the Workplace" hosted by Vanessa Bell and Louise Plant. 

We recently hosted a Training Webinar on this topic.  Should you wish to obtain a recorded copy of that Session, please fill in our request form.