Sexual harassment is a common occurrence in the workplace. A UK government survey found that 72% of people in the UK experience sexual harassment at some point in their life.
The negative impact of this is far-reaching – people’s work lives can become intolerable, and organisations can lose highly skilled staff.
In the UK there are laws to protect people from sexual harassment at work and employers must do everything they can to prevent it.
This article explains what sexual harassment is and gives examples of workplace sexual harassment. It also describes what routes you can take if you experience sexual harassment at work.
What is Sexual Harassment?
Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature. In legal terms, the unwanted behaviour must violate someone’s dignity, or create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for it to count as sexual harassment.
It makes no difference if the perpetrator had no intention of being offensive – if the unwanted behaviour makes the victim feel humiliated then it is sexual harassment.
The unwanted behaviour does not have to be repeated – a serious one-off incident can qualify as sexual harassment.
Flirting is sexual harassment if it is unwanted. Compliments designed to make people feel uncomfortable are also sexual harassment. Flirting or a compliment that is welcomed by another person is not sexual harassment.
It doesn’t matter if the behaviour was welcomed in the past. If it is no longer welcomed, then it is now sexual harassment.
What counts as a workplace?
Sexual harassment can happen in the office, but it can also occur elsewhere. For example, it might be at a work-related social event, on the journey to work, at a customer meeting or at a conference.
Examples Of Workplace Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment can be physical, verbal, or non-verbal. It may be in person, via email, video call, social media, telephone or by letter.
Physical sexual harassment includes touching or stroking someone against their will, kissing and, in extreme cases, sexual assault and rape.
Verbal sexual harassment includes sexual remarks about someone’s appearance, questions about sex, sexual jokes and making promises for sexual favours.
Non-verbal sexual harassment includes making sexual gestures, mimicking sexual acts, leering at someone and displaying sexual images.
What protection can I expect from my employer?
Employers are required by law to do everything they can to protect staff from sexual harassment by other staff, customers, suppliers or anyone else they come into contact with through work.
Employers must carry out a risk assessment that considers all the health and safety risks that may affect their employees. This includes the risk of sexual harassment which can have a severe impact on mental health.
The Equality Act 2010 aims to protect workers from discrimination based on 9 protected characteristics including sex and sexual orientation. Sexual harassment at work is prohibited by the act. It is also a crime (victimisation) to treat someone unfairly because they have made a claim of sexual harassment.
The Worker Protection Act 2023 came into effect in October 2024. It requires employers to take all reasonable steps to protect their staff from sexual harassment by other workers and by third parties. Organisations will have to pay higher amounts of compensation to workers if they fail in this legal duty.
What should I do if I experience sexual harassment at work?
If you are sexually harassed at work, you can deal with it by three different routes – informal, formal or legal.
Sexual harassment – Informal route
If you prefer an informal approach, you could choose to speak to the harasser and tell them that they are making you uncomfortable. You should keep calm and maintain eye contact, but do not apologise, smile or get into a debate about the behaviour. Walk away when you have said your piece.
You might prefer to talk to your manager, or another manager, instead. They could have a quiet word which might sort things out quickly and with minimal fuss.
Even if you take this informal approach, it is a good idea to collect evidence of the unwanted behaviour as you might need this if the informal approach fails. Save emails and text messages. Keep a diary and note down witnesses.
Sexual harassment – Formal route
You might prefer to make a formal complaint about the sexual harassment. You can do this if the informal approach doesn’t work, or if you feel the situation is too serious for the informal route. HR, your manager, or another manager if the complaint is about your manager, should help you understand the complaints process.
A mediation meeting might be organised to try and resolve the situation. Mediation is not always appropriate in sexual harassment cases – the environment might be too intimidating for the victim.
Sexual harassment – Legal route
If you are not happy with the outcome of the formal complaint, then you can take the case to an employment tribunal. You must tell ACAS (a government-funded independent body for resolving employment disputes) first, who will offer you early conciliation services and advise you on how to make a claim. You must start the tribunal process within 3 months minus a day from the date of the sexual harassment.
Summary
To summarise, sexual harassment at work is a common occurrence that affects many people and there is a high cost to individuals and businesses. Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature which can be physical, verbal or non-verbal. Employers have a legal duty to protect their workers from sexual harassment by other workers and by third parties. If you experience sexual harassment at work, you can deal with it by an informal approach, a formal complaint, or by the legal route of an employment tribunal.
Looking for sexual harassment awareness training?
If you are looking for sexual harassment training for your organisation, then take a look at our CPD-certified Sexual Harassment Awareness course. An easy way to train your workforce and comply with the Worker Protection Act.
The course explains what sexual harassment is and outlines the law on sexual harassment. It also describes different routes you can take to deal with a sexual harassment issue. Once you have completed this course, you will be able to recognise sexual harassment in the workplace. You will know who to report it to, and understand your responsibility in promoting a positive working environment.
