Sexual Harassment- by an employee
Our client who is involved in international logistics with offices overseas, received a complaint from a female employee, following a visit she had made, that she had been sexually harassed by a UK national on secondment to that office.
On our advice, the employee was suspended and a full investigation undertaken by our client. The investigation revealed systematic and prolonged harassment by the employee of his female colleague over a number of months. Several other employees witnessed this.
Our advisory service guided the client through the complex disciplinary procedures that required to be followed. Notwithstanding this, the employee still brought a claim before an employment tribunal.
On the eve of the hearing, the employee settled for a small payment to charity. The employer’s legal bill, that was already in four figures, was met entirely by insurers.
The lesson to be learned here is that, even where employers follow procedures to the letter, employees can still bring claims and cause substantial inconvenience. In this case, the employee had to meet his own legal costs whilst a charity benefited from the small settlement. The employer benefited from having our legal insurance policy in place and therefore was not out of pocket as a result of this experience.