Background:

The Complainant was employed as a journalist by the Respondent from March 2019, becoming a member of staff in February 2021. The Complainant role required her to work three overnight shifts a week, usually only working alongside one other employee. The Complainant often worked with another employee, Mr X, from whom the Complainant received inappropriate text messages, WhatsApp messages, and emails from 18 to 21 June 2021. The Complainant reported this behaviour as sexual harassment shortly after it initially occurred, and suffered from stress which caused her to be on certified sick leave from 30 June 2021. The Complainant alleged the actions of the Respondent were insufficient to ensure she felt safe in her role, and that they ultimately resulted in the Complainant being forced to resign from her role in March 2022. The Complainant sought compensation of €300,000, of which €150,000 was in respect of five years’ salary, and a further €150,000 was sought as compensation for the mental, emotional and physical impact of the harassment on the complainant.

The Respondent defended its actions in full. It stated that it had utilised comprehensive policies and procedures to both prevent sexual harassment and to address allegations of such behaviour. The Respondent took swift action to address the Complainant’s allegations and initiated an investigatory procedure which included the engagement of an independent specialist employment law barrister to chair an investigatory board. That board issued a report on 19 August 2021 which affirmed the Complainant’s allegations and recommended the Respondent take disciplinary against the perpetrator. The Respondent took the recommendation of the board and ultimately dismissed the perpetrator after full due process was afforded to him. During this time, the Respondent did not advise the Complainant of the perpetrator’s position due to its duty of care to him as his employer.

Outcome:

The Adjudication Officer found that while discrimination on the ground of gender under section 6 of the Employment Equality Act 1997 did not exist in the case, there was discrimination based on section 14A of that Act, which provides that sexual harassment in the workplace constitutes discrimination by the victim’s employer. However, the Adjudication Officer also found that the Respondent was successful in invoking the defence to such discrimination under subsection 14A(2), which provides that an employer may escape liability under that section if the employer proves “that the employer took such steps as are reasonably practicable” to prevent such sexual harassment and its impacts. Due to the Respondent’s successful invocation of this defence, the Complainant’s complaint was found to be not well-founded.

Practical Guidance for Employers:

Employers are not automatically exposed to legal risk if sexual harassment occurs in their workplace. If an employer has taken reasonable steps to prevent such behaviour and acts appropriately to address any allegations of such behaviour, they may be successful in defending a claim under the Employment Equality Act.

The full case is here:
https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/cases/2023/september/adj-00035740.html