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Sexual harassment policy & procedures
Victoria Legal Aid is committed to providing its employees with a supportive and healthy work environment, and this includes a workplace free from sexual harassment.
The Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995 make sexual harassment illegal. This policy is designed to assist you to prevent sexual harassment from occurring within your own workplace. It sets out definitions of sexual harassment, responsibilities of Managers and Supervisors to prevent harassment and tells you what to do should you experience sexual harassment. The policy also details your own responsibility to ensure nothing you do could be interpreted as offensive behaviour or as sexual harassment.
The format of the policy has been designed with ease of access in mind. It is a practical step by step approach to dealing with sexual harassment and gives you a number of options for resolving complaints.
I urge you to take time to read it.
Tony Parsons
Managing Director
General
Relevant legislation
What is sexual harassment?
Responsibilities of managers and supervisors
Responsibilities of co-workers
What can you do if you are being sexually harassed?
Role of sexual harassment contact officers
Conciliation
Sexual harassment complaints procedure
Formal complaints
Principles
Options for remedies
Confidentiality
Timelines
General
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is committed to providing a workplace free from sexual harassment. Every manager, supervisor and employee has a responsibility to maintain a working environment free from this kind of behaviour.
VLA will investigate all complaints of harassment and will take remedial action where necessary.
Relevant legislation
Sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful under the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995.
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is any unwelcome and uninvited behaviour or comments of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment may include unwelcome actions such as:
- offensive gestures, jokes or the display of offensive pictures (including in an electronic format)
- leering, patting, pinching, touching or unnecessary familiarity
- persistent and unwelcome demands or subtle pressures for sexual favours; or
- offensive comments on physical appearance, dress or private life.
If such behaviour could reasonably be expected to make a staff member feel:
- offended and humiliated; or
- intimidated and frightened,
then it is against the law.
If you are not sure whether certain behaviour constitutes sexual harassment, you should discuss this with one of the sexual harassment contact officers.
Responsibility of managers and supervisors
Under the relevant legislation, the employer and the relevant managers/supervisor may be held responsible for sexual harassment in the workplace unless all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent the harassment. Managers are responsible for making sure that all employees and supervisors understand that harassment will not be tolerated in the workplace and for taking early corrective action to deal with behaviour which may be offensive or intimidating.
It is management’s responsibility to take prompt action if there is reason to believe harassment exists, to try and resolve the issue confidentially and to prevent further incidents of sexual harassment from occurring. If a manager or supervisor feels that a reported incident might constitute harassment and the manager/supervisor feels that the nature of the complaint is outside their expertise, he or she will refer the matter to the Manager, Human Resources.
Responsibility of co-workers
All staff are expected to respect the rights of others and never encourage harassment. If any staff member becomes aware that a co-worker is being harassed, they can help prevent it by offering support to the person being harassed. This can be done by:
- Offering to act as a witness if the person being harassed decides to report the incident;
- Refusing to join in with any harassing activity; and
- Backing them up or supporting them to say no.
It is not a co-worker’s responsibility to say anything to the alleged harasser or to spread rumours about someone. If a staff member takes part in spreading rumours, they may be subject to defamation action.
What can you do if you are being sexually harassed?
If possible, promptly inform the offender directly or in writing that their behaviour is offensive and unacceptable and request that it stop immediately; or
If you feel you are not able to do this, discuss the matter with your supervisor; or Contact the Manager, Human Resources or one of the sexual harassment contact officers who will deal with the complaint. (At this stage, the complaint may be informal or formal. This is your choice. If you wish to proceed with a formal complaint you will need to follow the formal complaint process)
Always keep a record of or diary of incidents noting what happened, when and the names of witnesses.
You also have the right to raise concerns relating to sexual harassment in the workplace with the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity.
Role of Sexual Harassment Contact Officers
The Role of Sexual Harassment Contact Officers involves:
- assisting to clarify whether the behaviour could be sexual harassment
- discussing ways the problem can be resolved either informally or through VLA’s formal complaints procedure, and
- remaining neutral in the sense that his/her focus is on reconciliation of a dispute and not siding with one party against the other.
Conciliation
Once any complaint of sexual harassment has been made either formally or informally with either a supervisor, sexual harassment contact officer or Manager, Human Resources, the focus will be on conciliation as the preferred model for resolution of complaints.
Sexual harassment complaints procedure
Informal complaints
Informal ways of dealing with sexual harassment can include the following action:
- You may wish to deal with the situation yourself but may also wish to seek advice on possible strategies from a supervisor, sexual harassment contact officer or Manager, Human Resources
- You may ask your supervisor to speak to the alleged harasser on your behalf. The supervisor will privately convey your concerns and reiterate VLA’s sexual harassment policy without assessing the merits of the case
- A complaint is made, the harasser admits the behaviour, and the complaint is resolved through conciliation or counselling of the harasser
- A supervisor or manager observes unacceptable conduct occurring and takes independent action even though no complaint has been made.
Formal complaints
This procedure assumes that informal resolution of the grievance has been unsuccessful or is inappropriate.
- A formal complaint of sexual harassment will need to be in writing and should be made to the Manager, Human Resources.
- The Manager, Human Resources will undertake a preliminary investigation of the complaint and will then submit a confidential written report to the Managing Director of VLA.
- The Managing Director of VLA (or delegate) may carry out further investigations if necessary, including referral to an external mediator/conciliator.
- The Managing Director will then take appropriate remedial and/ or disciplinary action.
- All parties to the complaint will be advised of the outcome.
Principles
The principles which apply to the sexual harassment complaints procedure are:
- Everyone has a right to be treated with respect
- Everyone has a right to “due process”, ie the person against whom the allegation is made has the right to know what is alleged against them, the right to put their case in reply and the right for any decision to be made by an impartial decision maker
- Wherever possible a non-adversarial and non-judgemental resolution to the problem will be pursued
- Complaints will be treated in confidence and where confidentiality cannot be guaranteed this will be clearly indicated.
Options for remedies
The Managing Director shall determine appropriate action as a result of investigation. If someone has a complaint made against them and is found to have sexually harassed the complainer, disciplinary action will follow.
The disciplinary action will depend on the circumstances of the case, but can range from counselling the offender to termination of the offender’s employment.
Confidentiality
An accusation of sexual harassment can be potentially defamatory, especially if confidentiality is not observed and a person’s reputation in unfairly damaged. Discussions, information and records related to complaints will remain factual and confidential. Minimal documentation will be kept.
All documentation and details of sexual harassment enquiries and grievances will be kept securely by the Manager, Human Resources.