Most employees and employers hopefully know that harassment at work is not OK and that employers have a duty to provide a harassment free workplace environment. They hopefully also understand that employees have a right to take action against their employer if the employer fails to deal with issues they report or that the employer should have known about.
Yet, many fail to understand just how far the scope of these protections goes. They think that “workplace” refers only to stuff that happens in person while on the business premises. The reality is that not all harassment happens in this way, and thus, the responsibilities of employers extend beyond this. Here are two examples.
Through online means
It’s work from home Friday, but there’s no slacking allowed as you have a day full of video conferences booked in. They’re going well until the cat bumps into your desktop camera and knocks it from the carefully aligned view of your face to one of your bust. As you hurry to realign it, one of the senior managers makes an inappropriate comment, triggering sniggers among some of the other men on the call and leaving you struggling to regain your composure.
If the same comment had been made in a presential meeting, it would have been sexual harassment, no questions asked, so the law is likely to hold that it still is, even if it took place via video link.
At offsite events
It’s that time of year again, when the management team insists on taking you all away for a weekend to get to know each other better. Unfortunately, one of your colleagues takes this too far and treats it as an opportunity to make continued advances to you, which they know better than to do in the more serious atmosphere of the office. This, despite you clearly and vocally telling them to leave you alone from the outset.
If someone sexually harasses you and your employer fails to act as they should, then you may want legal guidance to consider your options.