Employer Responsibilities and the Equality Act 2010

 
One of the main employer responsibilities is  being held accountable for sex discrimination,  however you need to be aware that  if an employee or worker is found to have discriminated against a fellow employee, then the employer will be “vicariously” liable for them as well.
 
Acts of sex discrimination whether on company property or at an arranged function, such as company gatherings are also the employer’s responsibilities.

 

In law, you as an employer are not allowed to favour one person you employ by discriminating against another person due to their sex. In the same way you are not allowed to put restrictions on a job role that excludes women or makes it so difficult that women could not comply with the requirements.
 
The Law works the same way for men, discrimination or conditions which mean restrictions limiting the job role are unlawful.
 
It is not relevant whether or not as an employer you intended to discriminate against the complainant; if the complainant has supporting evidence to prove that discrimination was evident you are liable.
 
As an Employer you will want your business to be a success and to go from strength to strength having a competent and content staff. If you have a member of that team who is becoming a problem due to sexual discrimination or harassment that can have a huge impact on:

• Staff sickness
• Stress related illness amongst staff
• High staff turnover – thus reducing your workforce’s experience increases your training costs
• Poor performance and consequently loss of productivity
• Early retirement due to ill health
• Increased grievances/ disciplinary procedures instigated
• Legal action taken against the company
• Damage to company reputation

If any of  these sound familiar it may be time to take a good look at who is running the show and if their managerial approach is in line with your company ethos.
 

Do not be too quick to dismiss what has been implied by your employee

Be aware that good managers manage the team, bad ones employ bullyboy tactics.

 
If managers are manipulative they will know that sexual harassment is illegal and turn the harassment into plain old bullying. This behaviour is a sure fire way to lead to a demoralised, demotivated and disenchanted workforce. The Equality Law 2010 has tightened up a lot of the loopholes that bad managers were previouslyable to slip through.
 
As an Employer you should make it clear that sex discrimination or harassment will not be tolerated and have an open door policy for your employees to discuss problems or anxieties.