Sexual harassment
Updated: 15.06.2022
Sexual harassment can be verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is unwanted by the person affected. Either intentionally or un intentionally, it offends the mental or physical integrity of the person affected, in particular by creating a threatening, hostile, humiliating or repressive atmosphere.
Examples of sexual harassment include
- touching
- explicit or suggestive language
- propositioning
- coming too close
- calling out
- pictures
The main point is that for the person affected it is unwanted.
It is usually thought that sexual harassment at the workplace takes place within the workplace. A particular feature of service sectors is that sexual harassment comes also, and especially, from customers.
What can you do if you experience harassment at the workplace?
Don’t keep it to yourself. It’s hard to be on the receiving end of harassment and it takes strength to point it out. Dealing with a case of harassment in the work community can also cause conflicts that eat up resources.
Contact the occupational safety representative or shop steward at your workplace. PAM’s employment helpline can also help.
If you are more seriously physically assaulted by customers or colleagues, contact the police directly. Rape is always a crime.
Prolonged harassment that is not resolved by the workplace’s own means must be reported to the labour inspection authorities.If an employer is considered to have neglected their obligations, criminal charges may be considered.
If the harasser is a member of the work community:
1. Ask them to stop
If you experience sexual harassment at the workplace, your first job is to make it clear to the harasser that what they are doing is unwanted and ask them to stop it.
This is important because the key point about harassment is that for the person on the receiving end it is unwanted. It could be that the harasser interprets the situation differently and doesn’t understand that it’s harassment.
2. If it doesn’t stop – tell your supervisor
If despite this the harasser doesn’t stop their disorderly behaviour, tell your manager about it. If the harasser is your manager, tell your manager’s manager.
Be prepared to have to explain what happened and when.
Under the Equality Act, the Non-discrimination Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers are required to intervene.
In practice, the employer must tell the harasser to desist. If the harassment doesn’t stop, the employer can give them a warning. Ultimately the employer can terminate the harasser’s employment.
3. If still nothing happens – take the matter further
If, after you tell of your experience, your employer doesn’t take action, the harassment doesn’t stop or the employer is the harasser, contact the union’s employment helpline, the Ombudsman for Equality or the labour inspection authorities.
If your employer doesn’t take action on sexual harassment, this is interpreted as prohibited discrimination under the Equality Act. The employer may also have breached or neglected their obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
If the harasser is a customer...
1. Ask them to stop
You can also tell a customer in the way agreed the workplace that their behaviour is unwanted.
2. Tell your supervisor
Your employer is responsible for your working environment being healthy and safe. Employers must provide guidance on what to do in these types of situation – for example by giving permission to stop serving the customer.
Put the work community’s rules in order
Workplaces should have a plan and guidance in place in the event of bullying. Then the procedures on what to do if harassment occurs will already have been thought out. At the same time the workplace would be committing to not tolerating any form of harassment or bullying. Then all members of the work community would know what is allowed and what is prohibited. At the same time you could agree what to do if there is harassment by customers.
The Equality Act requires companies with over 30 employees to draw up an equality plan. For this, a survey of employees must be conducted to find out the equality situation. If the survey reveals sexual harassment by colleagues or customers, actions to rectify the situation must be entered in the equality plan.