The impact of sexual harassment is now recognised as having the potential to become a serious psychological hazard. With 1 in 4 Australian women reporting they were sexually harassed at work, it’s likely your organisation will be faced with this issue.
With the party season rapidly approaching, now is the time to be proactive about reducing the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring in your workplace. It’s also the time to put in place the policies and procedures you need to manage this type of complaint.
If it sounds like an investment of time and resources you’d prefer not to make, consider this …
In 2015, a Melbourne construction company was ordered to pay an employee $1.36 million in damages because they failed to address complaints of workplace sexual harassment which led to severe psychological injuries.
There are 3 essential elements
- 1. Develop Clear Guidelines And Procedures
Don’t expect your staff to know and understand what sexual harassment looks like. Joking around for one person could be sexual harassment to another. Very few people set out to harass or intimidate others. Sexual harassment is usually caused by ignorance about how the behaviour feels to the recipient.
Therefore your guidelines, policies and procedures must:
– Clearly explain what constitutes sexual harassment
– Set out behaviour expectations for all employees (including outside the workplace and on social media)
– Explain what will happen if these expectations are breached
- 2. Train Staff On How They Are Expected To Behaviour
Policies and procedures won’t help you if they are hidden away in a file. You need to train all staff to ensure they understand what’s expected and how to lodge a sexual harassment complaint. This training needs to be included in the induction process with annual refresher courses for all personnel.
- 3. Enforce These Policies And Procedures
Many employers never consider they may need to enforce their policies and procedures on sexual harassment. It can be a draining and emotional process for all parties – including the business owner and management.
The key to success is to be proactive by identifying any behaviours that aren’t a problem
When complaints are made, they need to be handled consistently across all levels of staff and in all situations. You can never be seen to be favouring one employee over another. If you feel unable to handle the rigours of managing a sexual harassment case, get expert help.
We are heading into the time of the year when there is a spike in workplace sexual harassment complaints so you need to act now.
The team at End2End Business Solutions are experts at putting in place the policies and procedures, as well as the training you need to protect your staff and your business from sexual harassment claims.
If you are currently dealing with this type of complaint, End2End can provide guidance on what to do or they can manage the whole process on your behalf.
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