Wake up call on sexual harassment

A sexual harassment case that has seen a South Island baker ordered to pay a total of $19,000 in damages and lost wages to a female employee is a wake up call for business, says EEO Commissioner Dr Judy McGregor.
“ No small business can afford sexual harassment complaints. Sexual harassment causes huge distress to victims and is completely unacceptable behaviour in 2010. Sexual harassment causes huge reputational damage to business and no employers can afford to pay damages and compensation in a recession.”

The baker sexually harassed the woman who worked for him over a period of four months with frequent unwanted touching and sexual innuendo. Read the decision here

“Those accused of sexual harassment often say that they didn’t intend their advances to be offensive. The law says it is not about the intentions of the perpetrator but the reception by the victim that counts.”

The Human Rights Review Tribunal said the case “demonstrates the dangers of running a business without any understanding of the provision of the Human Rights Act relating to sexual harassment, and with no insight whatsoever that some behaviours can be unwelcome to others no matter how innocent they may be thought by the perpetrator to be.”

A lesson for employees concerns who they should report to if they want to complain about sexual harassment. The women’s employment contract stated that complaints should be reported to the employer “ in strict confidence”. In this case the employer was the person complained about. “Make sure your employment contract lists two people and not one you can go to”, Dr McGregor said.

Sexual harassment complaints received by the Human Rights Commission