Harassment covers various forms of behaviour, ranging from the extreme, such as assault to the less obvious i.e. jokes or banter.  Often a perpetrator will believe this to be innocent fun but it’s the effect on the victim that is important. Employers need to be mindful that they can be responsible for harassment to employees by virtually anyone.  This can include customers, suppliers, contractors and even members of the public.

Current rules in the 2010 Equality Act provide that employers are liable for harassment of its employees where:

• A third party harasses an employee in the course of their employment
• The employer failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so
• The employer knew the employee had been harassed in the course of employment on at least two other occasions by a third party

The Equality Act implemented the much criticised ‘three strikes’ test.  The test requires that should an employer be aware of at least two occasions when an employee has been harassed they are then liable if it takes place again.  It does not however make clear whether the employee needs to prove harassment took place on three occasions or whether they can argue that because their claim of harassment took place, it is then sufficient to accuse the employer of harassment themselves because they did not act to put a stop to it. 

Verifying an employee’s complaint can be difficult as there may be no internal witnesses to corroborate the complainant’s account 
 
Reasonable Steps

Employers can avoid liability of harassment to its employees and should consider the following steps to help prevent liability:

• Have a clear, robust and up to date policy on harassment in place that all staff are aware of
• Bring your anti-harassment policy to the attention of everyone by displaying a public notice as a reminder that it will not be tolerated 
• Do not rely on the victim to demand action – simply ignoring the problem will leave you, as an employer exposed
• Investigate any hint of harassment and take steps to deal with it promptly. This may include talking to the perpetrator or asking them if they would like to change roles within the organisation.
• Keep up to date with the law to protect yourself from claims before they manifest themselves

For more information and advice on protecting your firm and staff from harassment claims please email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or call 01442 261731