Workplace Sexual Harassment case update
Workplace sexual harassment case update – An interesting follow up to my previous article about the 7 news journalist who was taking action claiming that he had been unfairly dismissed for sexual harassment has discontinued his court action. Link to article
In the previous article his argument appeared to be that his behavior was not sexual harassment and did not constitute serious misconduct, it is not stated in this article I have to wonder whether the definition of sexual harassment and serious misconduct relating to sexual harassment was explained.
The general consensus is that the definition of sexual harassment under section 28A of the Sex Discrimination Act is a very broad definition & the addition of SH to the definition of serious misconduct under the Fair Work Regs has set a low bar making it very hard to argue that the behavior if found substantiated was not sexual harassment and serious misconduct.
We are now in September & heading down to the Christmas party period, historically this tends to be a peak period for sexual harassment complaints following bad behaviour especially when alcohol is involved.
What is your business doing to protect your employees from sexual harassment and to ensure that you satisfy your duty of care to take all reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate as far as possible sex discrimination including sexual harassment.
I recommend two things;
Firstly have policy supported by training that clearly outlines what sexual harassment is, that it is unlawful and what a person should do if they are subjected to or witness sexual harassment in the workplace.
It is important that the training should emphasise the employees should also be aware of the bystander effect and the cone of silence.
Please contact me if you would like more information about my Understanding Workplace Sexual Harassment training options & how to ensure that you are taking the necessary and proportionate steps to ensure that your employees do not engage in sexual harassment, know what to do if they are subjected to a witness sexual harassment and avoid the bystander effect or the cone of silence – Link here
The second thing is to have a trusted & effective reporting and investigation mechanism in the event that sexual harassment occurs in your workplace. If your HR professionals or managers are not fully conversant with best practice workplace investigation processes I recommend that you either outsource the investigation to a professional investigator or receive training in the best practice processes.
Please contact me if I can assist you in this area. The following links provide information on my training and investigation services.
Next open course – https://awpti.com.au/conducting-workplace-investigations-open-course/
internal training – https://awpti.com.au/conducting-workplace-investigations-full-course/
You don’t want to be the next organisation in the news relating to sexual harassment.
