Pub banter can be sex harassment

Warning from equality watchdog

PUB banter at after- work events can amount to sexual harassment, the equality watchdog has warned.

Unwanted jokes and facial expressions can also be deemed unacceptable behaviour – even if ‘that is not how it was intended’.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, outlined the concerns in a letter to 400 major firms in the wake of the ‘Me Too’ scandal.

The ‘unwanted conduct’ highlighted also includes pranks, social media contact and mimicry. Companies are advised to follow steps and technical guidance which the EHRC hopes will eventually ‘become statutory guidance enforceable by law’.

Sexual harassment offences can include ‘suggestive looks, staring or leering’ as well as intrusive questions about a person’s sex life.

There were also warnings against spreading sexual rumours, unwelcome hugging, massaging and touching.

Mrs Hilsenrath said employers are responsible for any action which falls ‘within the course of employment’, including after-work drinks in the pub or leaving dos.

In the letter, seen by the Daily Telegraph, employers were advised to create anti-harassment policies and give staff proper training.

Other steps included making it simple to report incidents, acting immediately upon a complaint and protecting staff from harassment by other parties, including customers.

The government is currently carrying out a consultation into existing harassment laws.

Mrs Hilsenrath’s letter said firms must ‘step up action against bad behaviour’. Under new guidelines employers will be expected to provide definitions of harassment, along with warnings that violating the policy could lead to workers being fired.

Research reportedly showed threequarters of workers have experienced sexual harassment.

Mrs Hilsenrath said the burden to challenge harassment had been on the victim, rather than the employer, for too long.

She wrote: ‘Recent high-profile cases have shone an important light on the continued harassment many women face in the workplace and showed that we still need to do more to modernise working cultures.’

The letter added: ‘It’s been two years since #MeToo forced sexual harassment to the top of the agenda.

‘We’ve seen some employers wake up, take this on board and start to make the difference... but we need others to follow suit.’

‘Pranks and mimicry’