Sexual harassment could trigger employment disputes

Published on 16 Aug 2010 under category: legal

Businesses that fail to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace could find themselves becoming embroiled in employment disputes.
According to an Ipsos Mori poll commissioned by Reuters, one in ten workers have experienced such treatment on the job.
The survey questioned 12,000 people in 24 different countries and revealed that staff in India are most likely to report sexual harassment.
Indeed, over one-quarter of employees in the country claim to have suffered at some point in their working life.
Younger workers under the age of 35 are more likely to lodge a complaint about sexual harassment than their older colleagues, the poll showed.
Physical attacks can also pose a problem in some workplaces, according to the survey, with seven per cent of employees having been assaulted by a manager of a co-worker.
"A workplace culture that either condones or leaves unchecked any employee being slapped, punched, kicked or shoved by a co-worker or manager out of anger creates an atmosphere of productivity out of fear and intimidation" said John Wright, senior vice-president at Ipsos.

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