Everyone should feel safe in the workplace. Whether it's a one-off incident or a pattern of misconduct, all forms of sexual harassment can violate a person's dignity.
Employers have a duty of care to protect their staff from sexual harassment. If they don't they could face legal claims, high employee turnover and damage to their company's reputation.
In this guide, we'll look at what sexual harassment is, what constitutes it and how to prevent it in your workplace.
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is any unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. It can affect anyone in the workplace - regardless of a person's sex or gender identity.
Under the Equality Act 2010, the law classes unwanted behaviour as having the purpose or effect of:
- Violating someone's dignity.
- Creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
It doesn't matter if the behaviour was intended to be upsetting or not. If the claimant feels that the behaviour crossed these boundaries then it constitutes sexual harassment.
Examples of sexual harassment
Recognising the signs of sexual harassment can help employers eliminate it in their workplace. Sexual harassment doesn't just include physical contact. Unwanted sexual advances, sexual jokes and even inappropriate text messages can all constitute harassment.
Some other forms of sexual harassment include:
- Offering conditions of employment based on requests for sexual favours (either explicitly or implicitly).
- Unwanted physical contact, sexual violence or sexual assault.
- Verbal harassment of a sexual nature, including jokes about sexual acts.
- Asking about someone's sex life or spreading sexual rumours.
- Comments on someone's body or sexual gestures.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) classes behaviour as sexual harassment even if it's not directed at a specific person. For example, negative offhand comments about women as a group may be a form of sexual harassment.
What are the effects of sexual harassment?
Harassment in the workplace can create a range of issues. When employees experience sexual harassment, it can have a knock-on effect on the workplace as a whole. This can lead to issues for you and your company.
Let's explore the effects of sexual harassment.
Hostile working environment
If an employee is sexually harassed, they can feel uncomfortable entering their place of work.
Sexual comments and other unwelcome sexual advances can create a toxic workplace culture. This can lead to low employee engagement, poor performance or a prolonged period of absence.
Poor working relationships
Everyone wants their employees to get along. But unwanted sexual behaviour can make it hard for employees to work together.
For example, one employee may feel uncomfortable and sexually harassed by the another colleague. As a result, they may wish to spend time away from the perpetrator. Or the workplace as a whole if they're worried about physical harassment.
This can have a big effect on collaborative work. When employees feel uncomfortable around each other it can affect their productivity.
Increased employee turnover
Sexual misconduct can have lasting effects on the workplace as a whole. Employees who have experienced sexual harassment can often be left with feelings of confusion or embarrassment. It can also have a lasting effect on their self-esteem.
If unwanted conduct affects an employee's mental health then they may choose to leave their roles. If you want to retain your best staff you must show them that you care about their wellbeing. Otherwise, you may need to spend time and money hiring and replacing staff.
What does the law say about sexual harassment?
The Equality Act 2010 states that employers have a duty to protect people in their workplace from unlawful discrimination. This includes:
- Employees and workers.
- Contractors and self-employed people hired to personally do the work.
- Job applicants.
There is no law against employees having sexual contact with colleagues or even their bosses. An employer can choose to ban workplace romances. But this can be hard to manage and enforce.
How can employers manage sexual harassment?
As an employer, you should remove or reduce the risks of unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace. You can do this by offering support to those affected and creating clear channels for reporting sexual harassment.
Let's explore how to manage this issue.
Create a sexual harassment policy
The first step you should take is to create a sexual harassment policy.
Your policy should include:
- Steps to make a formal complaint if they're experiencing sexual harassment.
- Details on the procedure and how it's managed.
- Signposts to support that employees can access such as an EAP.
It's important to provide staff with more than one representative that they can contact. This can work as a failsafe in case an employee's manager is responsible for unwanted sexual comments or acts.
Create a culture of zero tolerance
Your employees must know your stance on inappropriate behaviour in the workplace. Whether it's jokes about an employee's sexual orientation or inappropriate sexual activity.
Creating a positive workplace culture can encourage bystander intervention. Colleagues should feel comfortable calling out anyone who sexually harasses another individual. This can stop an incident from developing into a bigger issue.
Fully investigate all claims
You should take all claims of sexual harassment seriously. Whether it's an act of unwanted touching or an incident of sexual assault, it needs to be handled effectively.
An employee should feel comfortable coming to you if they experience sexual harassment. By investigating all claims you show that you care about their wellbeing. And that you want to support them during this difficult time.
Follow your grievance and disciplinary procedures
If an employee is has been sexually harassing someone in your workplace, you need to follow your disciplinary procedure. The severity of the act will dictate what action is taken following the and disciplinary hearing.
Regularly review your policy
You need to regularly review your policy to make sure it's keeping your staff safe. This can be done by asking staff about their feelings and if they have any improvements.
Regularly reviewing your policies can also ensure that you're in line with all relevant legislation, like the Equality Act 2010.
Get advice on sexual harassment from Peninsula
As an employer, you want to make sure that everyone in your workplace feels safe. All workers deserve to work somewhere free from harassment of any kind.
So if you don't work to prevent it, you could face drops in productivity, high levels of employee turnover and legal claims.
Peninsula offers expert advice on enhanced DBS checks. Our HR team offers 24/7 HR employment advice which is available 365 days a year.
Want to find out more? Get advice from one of our HR consultants. For further support, call our telephone number 0800 028 2420
