Eastern Commercial Lawyers

Fraser-Kirk v David Jones – Is your business protected from sexual harassment claims?

22-May-2011
Employers need to ensure that adequate policies and procedures are in place to avoid and to mitigate against the risks posed by sexual harassment claims.

In 2010, Australia's  biggest ever sexual harassment case - Kristy Fraser-Kirk v David Jones  appears to have encouraged other complainants to file claims against their employers.

Ms Fraser-Kirk's case against David Jones and its former chief, Mark McInnes, was settled out of court, with a payment of $850,000 but only after bringing this issue squarely in the public spotlight.

The Human Rights Commission has recently confirmed that sexual harassment now constitutes a third of all complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act which is a figure up 50 per cent since 2009.

The commission has revealed that from July to December 2010 sexual harassment accounted for more than 30 per cent of all complaints. During the 2009 financial year sexual harassment cases made up just 20 per cent of complaints. Clearly claims have increased significantly based on these statistics.

With such claims on the rise, the best form of protection is to have procedures in place which include dissemination of information setting out acceptable standards of behaviour in the workplace and procedures to be adhered to when such complaints arise.

At a bare minimum, in order to comply with statutory obligations, employers should have policies which set out

• Objectives of the sexual harassment policy;
• A statement of prohibition/prevention of sexual harassment;
• Details of application and coverage of the policy;
• Responsibilities of management
• A definition of sexual harassment under the policy
• Examples of sexual harassment
• That sexual harassment is unlawful behaviour
• Steps that can be taken to prevent sexual harassment from occurring
• How to make a complaint/grievance procedure
• A review mechanism/provisions for records being kept of training

It is important that any such policies are considered by employees at the time of entry into employment and incorporated ideally as part of the terms of employment.

It is equally important to ensure that all employees are trained in conjunction with the implementation of any such policies and that related policies are also implemented concerning EEO/Discrimination, bullying and other forms of harassment to protect against similar risks.

If you require any assistance regarding complaints or in the preparation or review of your sexual harassment or related policies, please do not hesitate to contact John Murray, Partner on 0414 294 260 or on email john.murray@eclawyers.com.au

Back