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Sexual harassment
[ch 7: pages 223-224]Sexual harassment is specifically outlawed by section 26(2), EA 10. This says that a person carries out harassment if he or she engages in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of:
• violating the dignity of the other person; or
• creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
“Conduct of a sexual nature” can take many forms, including lewd or suggestive remarks, jokes about a colleague’s sex life, displaying or circulating sexualised or pornographic images such as inappropriate calendars or screen savers, inappropriate touching, hugging or kissing, or demands for sexual favours.
Sexual harassment also occurs where someone engages in harassment of another person (for example, unwanted sexual advances) and then, because of their response to that conduct (whether rejection or submission), that person is treated less favourably than they would have been treated had they not rejected or submitted to the conduct (section 26(3)(c), EA 10). For example:
A female worker is asked out by her team leader and she refuses. The team leader feels resentful and informs the Head of Division about the rejection. The Head of Division subsequently fails to give the female worker the promotion she applies for, even though she is the best candidate. She knows that the team leader and the Head of Division are good friends and believes that her refusal to go out with the team leader influenced the Head of Division’s decision. She could have a claim of harassment over the Head of Division’s actions.
EHRC Code of Practice on Employment
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/employercode.pdf
Just a bit of banter?
In 2016, the TUC collaborated with the Everyday Sexism project to produce important research, Just a bit of banter?, highlighting the alarming scale of sexist behaviour at work in the UK. Among the findings, more than half (52%) of women, and nearly two-thirds (63%) of women aged 18-24 years old, reported experiencing workplace sexual harassment. Nearly a quarter (23%) of the women reported unwanted touching.
In nearly 90% of cases, the perpetrator was male, and in around one-fifth of cases, the harasser was their line manager, or someone with direct authority over them. Eighty per cent of incidents went unreported for reasons such as fear of career damage, of not being believed or taken seriously or of embarrassment.
https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/SexualHarassmentreport2016.pdf
For further information see the LRD booklet Tackling sexual harassment at work, 2018 (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1911)