Harassment and discrimination

One of the areas covered by harassment and discrimination laws is the workplace. That means it is unlawful to harass or discriminate against a person in the workplace. As an employer it is important to understand in what workplace situations harassment and discrimination laws apply and therefore the extent of your possible liability.

Discrimination and harassment in the workplace can occur:

• During recruitment
• In the course of employment (eg, discrimination in the allocation of training)
• In termination of employment (eg, reasons for selecting people for redundancies)
• At work related functions (eg, work Christmas party, even if held off-site)
• When calling a work colleague at home
• When working at another workplace during the course of employment, and
• When two people work in the same building but for different employers.

Discrimination in the provision of goods and services

Discrimination laws also cover the provision of goods and services – this means it is unlawful for your employees to discriminate against a customer on the basis of an irrelevant characteristic. As the employer you may be held liable for acts of discrimination or harassment against your customers or clients.

It is important that your employees are aware of the situations in which harassment and discrimination can occur. It should be an issue that is included in employee training programs or in your company’s harassment and discrimination policy.

Ai Group can provide harassment and discrimination training for all employees, including managers and supervisors.

Training
View our Training programs for courses on this topic.

Publications
To order the publication on this topic, Ai Group Handbook of Employment – EEO, Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy, visit the Ai Group online shop.