Harassment in retail: What steps should you take?

Last year, we at Foot Anstey conducted a survey which identified that one in 10 retail staff, equivalent to 319,000 UK workers, have experienced inappropriate or unwanted touching of a sexual nature whilst at work.  

We have now reached a point in time where Harvey Weinstein (whose alleged criminal misconduct sparked the rise of the #metoo movement in the first place) has been formally convicted by a jury of raping an aspiring actress in a New York City hotel room and sexually assaulting a production assistant at his apartment. This would seem to be as good a time as any therefore to acknowledge quite how big an impact the Weinstein scandal and the movement which followed it have had both in terms of cultural awareness of the scale of the issue at hand, and upon shaping social norms and the willingness of victims to ‘call out’ inappropriate conduct.  

On 11 July 2019, the Government Equalities Office opened a consultation on how best to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace, which included seeking views on measures such as whether employers should be required to publicly report on their prevention and resolution policies, with board sign-off. The response to this consultation is due to be published imminently, however, irrespective of what this recommends, it’s clear that the focus on sexual harassment both from a societal and legal perspective is not something which is likely to go away. 

What steps should employers take to prevent harassment in the workplace?

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) recently issued guidance for employers on dealing with harassment in the workplace. This is a very helpful starting point. The key points for employers are:

• Employers are expected to have effective and well-communicated policies to prevent harassment in the workplace. Regular reviews of these policies should be undertaken to ensure their effectiveness.
• Malicious complaints should not be overemphasised in the policy, as research by the EHRC has shown that most reports are made in good faith.

 

• Other company policies should be reviewed to ensure that they support and reflect the anti-harassment policy, particularly dress code policies, disciplinary policies and policies on the use of IT and communications equipment in the workplace.

 

• Employers should seek to understand what is happening in their workplace and be alive to warning signs that harassment or victimisation may be present. Implementing an employee support programme which enables employees to make anonymous complaints should also be considered.

 

• Employers should provide training to its employees. In particular, where employees are at risk of third party harassment, training should be provided on how to deal with such issues, i.e. if a customer is being verbally abusive, what steps the employee can take. Training should be refreshed at regular interviews.
• Use of non-disclosure agreements is disparaged and employers should promote a transparent workplace.

 

• Employers should consider what steps they can take to reduce power imbalances within their businesses.

What should employers do in response to a report of harassment?

It is important that employers handle reports of harassment sensitively and seriously. The EHRC confirms that a good procedure should:

 

• Tell workers how to make a complaint and set out multiple reporting channels.

 

• Set out a range of approaches for dealing with harassment.

 

• State that victimisation and retaliation in relation to a report will not be tolerated.

 

• Provide contact details for internal and external support and advice services to the complainant and alleged harasser.

 

Many of these ideas seem straightforward – and in some respects they are. However, for retailers who have large workforces spread out across the country, getting it right across all of your locations takes time, energy and ongoing commitment. It requires serious investment in training your managers at the local and regional level, to ensure that your company’s strategy for dealing with harassment is communicated and applied at the ground level. 

The good news is that we’re seeing more and more companies committing to upskilling their managers so that they understand equality law and how they can play their part in preventing bullying and harassment. Change is coming. 

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James Collings, Partner, Foot Anstey employment team