Employers have a responsibility to ensure that all its employees are trained and familiar with the fact that discriminatory behaviour or harassment is unacceptable.
Poppy Smart became the target of what she described as unwanted attention on her daily walk to work in Worcester city centre. The workers on the site were whistling at her and were recorded on her phone blocking her path and stating ‘morning love’ when she didn’t react. She found the behaviour intimidating and it caused her anxiety to the point that she considered a different route to work.
Although the police followed up on Ms Smart’s complaint as a possible incident of anti-social behaviour, they did not prosecute and commented: “After consultation with the woman who reported the behaviour it was decided that employers would deal with those said to be responsible.”
Most employees would recognise that whistling at a female colleague would not be acceptable. However, what is the position in relation to such an accusation of sex discrimination and harassment from a member of the public against one of your employees and how should you respond?
The central issue focuses on the employer’s reputation and so becomes a matter of potential misconduct – if any of the individuals involved were found to be behaving in such a manner as to damage the employer’s public standing.
Therefore, it is still important to have policies highlighting that discriminatory behaviours will not be tolerated in the workplace and emphasising that employees are ambassadors of the organisation for which they work and much act accordingly.
If an employer issues a discriminatory sanction against an employee, after receiving such a complaint, it is likely to be in a strong position to defend its actions, provided it has followed the proper procedures.
If you are an employer and would like advice on this, or other employment law issues, please contact a member of our team for more information.
