Employers are being reminded of their responsibilities in tackling matters of sexual harassment within the workplace.
Acting Chief Labour Officer Wayne Sobers said even though the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act aims to address the issue, there is reason to believe cases of sexual harassment within the workplace were under-reported.
“We know that even though the legislation is there, we have reason to believe that sexual harassment is being under-reported and we thought it best to remind employers of their responsibility to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace,” he said.
“The act extends to cover a whole range of situations but I think that a part of the under-reporting may also be due to our smallness and persons are reluctant sometimes to give information for fear of being identified and probably targeted.”
Sobers’ remarks came on the sidelines of a seminar hosted by the Labour Department at the Warrens Office Complex yesterday. The seminar is part of the department’s mandate and helps in sharing information and lending advice on how employers can comply with labour legislations.
The sessions delved into topics such as the Labour Department Act, the Employment Rights Act, the proposed family leave legislation, the Holiday Act, as well as the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act.
Sobers said that the discussion surrounding sexual harassment in the workplace could be broad and take many forms.
“It can be very simple. Words that somebody speak, email messages that you send or Whatsapp. It can involve touching. Sometimes it gets worse in terms of actual physical activity and one of the things that we have heard but we don’t have evidence on, is about managers seeking sexual favours for persons to keep jobs, which is not ideal,” he said.
“In many forms, the act itself spells out that it could relate to any action, any word that annoys or alarms a person.
“Sometimes it could be the way in which two people behave in close proximity to another person.
“So it is quite wide and it depends very much on the individual and what offends them because there are some persons who might be offended if you call them darling. So it depends a lot on how it is received by the individual” he added.
Sobers also said the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act also expanded on the definition of the workplace and applied it to where an employee is conducting business on behalf of an employer.
The post Employers urged to deal with sexual harassment appeared first on nationnews.com.