Harassment and Discrimination Quiz

QUESTION

What are the four principal procedures employers need to take to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace’

ANSWER

These methods include:

  • Train employees regarding discrimination and harassment, a form of sex discrimination.
  • Continual monitoring of workplace for such conduct.
  • Develop and understandable and cogent sexual harassment and anti ‘ discrimination policy.
  • Encourage employees to come forward without fear of retaliation.

WHY IS IT RIGHT

PREVENTION

Prevention is the best and only tools to eliminate all forms of harassment and discrimination in the workplace. This can be accomplished by adopting the following measures.

A. Build good relationships in a respectful work environment

  • Have a ‘no sexual harassment-tolerated’ work culture.
  • Have a code of conduct that describes expected behaviors and what misconduct and serious misconduct is.
  • Set the core values of your business.
  • Promote good work relationships.
  • Recognize and promote diversity.
  • Set up a conflict management process.
  • Set up a process for people to report sexual harassment.
  • Set up systems to support workers at a greater risk of being harassed.

B. Educate workers about sexual harassment

Train employees at least once a year by conducting training sessions for employees. These sessions should teach employees what sexual harassment is, explain that employees have a right to a workplace free of sexual harassment, review your complaint procedure, and encourage employees to use it.

  • Let your workers know what acceptable/non-acceptable work behaviour is, and that sexual harassment will not be tolerated.

Train Employees on

  • Consent.
  • what sexual harassment is.
  • what your sexual harassment policy contains.
  • what worker should do if they experience sexual harassment.
  • what workers can do if they see sexual harassment.
  • Ensure your induction for new workers covers the information above.
  • Talk about sexual harassment at team meetings and toolbox talks.
  • Put up posters reminding workers what’s acceptable work behaviour.

C. Train supervisors and managers at least once a yearly by conducting training sessions for supervisors and managers that are separate from the employee sessions. The sessions should educate the managers and supervisors about sexual harassment and explain how to deal with complaints.

D. Develop good managers

  • Give your managers leadership training to help them effectively manage and supervise workers.
  • Expect managers to intervene early to call out and deal with any unreasonable behaviour before it escalates.

E. Make sure everyone knowns their responsibilities

  • While businesses must effectively deal with sexual harassment at work, everyone at work has a role in dealing with it.
  • Make everyone at work aware of their roles and responsibilities.

F. Make your sexual harassment policies, processes and systems transparent

  • Have a sexual harassment policy that outlines expectations for acceptable behaviour and your commitment to deal with sexual harassment.
  • Put in place a policy on alcohol consumption at work events.
  • Make sure processes/systems cover how you will deal with sexual harassment including.
  • what training workers and managers will receive.
  • how workers report sexual harassment, and what protection/support they will receive.
  • how you will investigate and deal with reports.
  • how you will check that preventative measures are effectively managing the health and safety
  • risks arising from sexual harassment.

G. Make sure your workers know how to report sexual harassment

  • Make sure workers know that you want to be told when sexual harassment occurs, and will support and protect those who report sexual harassment.
  • Set up multiple ways (formal, informal, anonymous) to report sexual harassment.

Tell workers:

  • how to record instances of sexual harassment.
  • the more specific information the better.
  • how to report about sexual harassment they directly experience or see to you.
  • what to expect after they report sexual harassment including how you will support and protect them from reprisals.

H. Provide protection and support to workers who experience sexual harassment or see sexual harassment

  • Protect all the people involved (including both sides of the complaint, support people and witnesses) from victimization (being punished, bullied, intimidated).
  • Support can come from within the organization (trained sexual harassment contact persons) or other parties such as unions, or employee assistance programs.
  • Provide the support as soon as possible after you receive a report of sexual harassment.

WHY IS EVERYTHING ELSE WRONG

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Employers must provide a safe and secure workplace for their employees. Being safe and secure includes preventing sexual harassment at work. Sexual harassment is prohibited under the same laws that prohibit other types of discrimination, such as religious or race-based discrimination. Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advance or conduct on the job that creates a hostile, offensive, or intimidating workplace environment. Sexual harassment can take many forms, and both men and women can be the victim of sexual harassment. As an employer, it’s important that you prevent sexual harassment at your business.

Employer Must:

  • Take all reports of sexual harassment seriously
  • Act promptly
  • Clearly communicate the process
  • Protect the people involved
  • Support the people involved
  • Maintain confidentiality
  • Treat everyone involved fairly
  • Keep good documentation

Workers Must:

  • have duties to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and to take reasonable care that they don’t harm others while at work.
  • must cooperate with reasonable policies and procedures about sexual harassment the business has in place that have been notified to them.
  • must comply, so far as is reasonably practicable, with any reasonable instruction about sexual harassment given by the business so the business can comply with the law
  • should report sexual harassment they experience or see so their business can do something about it.