Third-party Sexual Harassment Policy

A) THIRD-PARTY SEXUAL HARASSMENT

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  1. Third-party sexual harassment occurs when one of our workforce is subjected to sexual harassment by someone who is not part of our workforce but who is encountered in connection with work. This includes our customers, suppliers, members of the public, service users, patients, friends and family of colleagues, delegates at a conference, audiences, self-employed contractors etc.
  2. Third-party sexual harassment of our workforce is unlawful and will not be tolerated. The law requires employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties.
  3. The law does not provide a mechanism for individuals to bring a claim of third-party harassment alone. However, failure for an employer to take reasonable steps to prevent third-party sexual harassment may result in legal liability in other types of claim.
  4. In order to prevent third-party sexual harassment from occurring, we will:
    1. inform third-parties i.e. suppliers of our zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy within our supplier documentation
  5. If you have been subjected to third-party sexual harassment, you are encouraged to report this as soon as possible to Linda Grant. Alternatively, you can report instances of third-party sexual harassment by emailing managers@fourways-sidmouth.co.uk This online means of reporting sexual harassment are continually monitored.)
  6. Should a customer sexually harass a member of our workforce, we will warn the client or customer about their behaviour/ban the customer. Any criminal acts will be reported to the police.
  7. We will not tolerate sexual harassment by any member of our workforce against a third party. Instances of sexual harassment of this kind may lead to disciplinary action including termination of employment


B) DISCIPLINARY ACTION

  1. If the decision is that the allegation of sexual harassment or victimisation is well founded, the harasser/victimiser will be liable to disciplinary action in accordance with our disciplinary procedure up to and including summary dismissal. An employee who receives a formal warning or who is dismissed for sexual harassment/victimisation may appeal by using our disciplinary appeal procedure.
  2. When deciding on the level of disciplinary sanction to be applied, we will take into consideration any aggravating factors affecting the case. One example of aggravating factors is an abuse of power over a more junior colleague.
  3. If, due to the investigation, it is concluded that your complaint is both untrue and has been brought with malicious intent, disciplinary action will be taken against you.


C) TRAINING

  1. We provide training to all our staff on sexual harassment to ensure there is a clear understanding of, amongst other things, what sexual harassment is and how it may occur, that it will not be tolerated, expected levels of behaviour, how they can report any incidents of having been sexually harassed or having witnessed it and that acts of harassment will be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure potentially resulting in dismissal.
  2. We ensure that all levels of management are trained on implementing this policy including preventing and managing sexual harassment in the workplace, and the procedure to follow if an allegation is reported.
  3. We will regularly review the effectiveness of our training.
  4. We provide refresher training as appropriate.