Can you confidently say that you and your employees know about sexual harassment and its prevention in your workplace?
Consider the following facts:
- Anyone can experience workplace sexual harassment
- It can occur in person, online or over the phone
- 1 in 3 people have experienced workplace sexual harassment
- Intent is irrelevant – excuses don’t matter so ‘just having a joke’ is not a defence
- Sexual Harassment doesn’t have to be repeated or ongoing
- Eveyone has a responsibility to prevent workplace sexual harassment.
Creating a safe, respectful workplace is not only a compliance requirement; it’s a fundamental commitment to caring for your team. With recent legislative changes, Australian businesses have a responsibility to actively prevent sexual harassment, meaning you as an employer must take action in the key areas of leadership, policy and process and employee training.
Free and Fast Training on Eliminating Workplace Sexual Harassment
The Fair Work Commission offers excellent training to guide your workers in understanding sexual harassment. Their Workplace Sexual Harassment Module provides practical information on:
- recognising and responding to sexual harassment
- reporting processes
- adverse action
- workplace obligations to prevent sexual harassment
- the role of the Fair Work Commission
It’s a concise, 20-minute course designed to ensure everyone knows their rights and roles in creating a safe workplace. Importantly, it can be downloaded and imbedded into your internal platforms at no cost.
FCHR recommends this training is rolled out to all employees at all levels of your business, and encourage you to include it in your workplace induction training with annual refresher training. When your workers create an account with The Fair Work Commission to complete this training, they will receive a certificate of completion which should be kept as a part of your employee training records to demonstrate how your business is working to eliminate sexual harassment in your workplace. For additional insight and training opportunities, explore the FWC’s other online learning tools which cover a range of workplace behaviour topics and provide essential guidance for business leaders.
Steps to Care for Your Team
A culture of respect begins with proactive measures that put people first:
- Develop Inclusive Policies: Establish clear policies that define respectful behaviour and communicate them regularly.
- Encourage Continuous Learning: Engage your team in regular training, reinforcing a commitment to safety and mutual respect like the FWC training recommended above.
- Ensure Safe Reporting: Create transparent reporting channels that respect privacy and protect all involved.
- Offer Accessible Support: Providing access to resources, such as 1800RESPECT, reassures employees that support is always available.
Responding Thoughtfully to Incidents
A person’s experience in reporting, the type of response they receive an the supports available to them all influence the effect that sexual harassment has on them. If harassment does occur, a swift and respectful response is key to maintaining trust and safety in the workplace:
- Conduct Fair Investigations: Approach each complaint with empathy and integrity, ensuring a comprehensive response.
- Provide Compassionate Support: Employees who experience harassment need to feel seen, heard, and supported.
- Implement Changes and Learn: Take corrective actions as needed and regularly review your practices to enhance workplace safety.
Other Helpful Resources
Earlier this year, Full Circle HR & Business Services produced a report that recommends Members adopt the 6 minimum standards as outlined by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission with practical ways your business can easily address these 6 recommendations. Read the article and request the report to learn more.
Your Next Step
- Schedule 30 minutes for yourself or another leader in your business to complete the Sexual Harassment Training module from FWC to assess its introduction to your business as a standard training module
- Roll the training out across the business
- Review our article and request our Members Report Sexual Harassment Positive Duty Requirements for Victorian Employers
- Speak with your FCHR Consultant about how to practically roll out our recommended measures across leadership, policy, process and education to safeguard your people and ensure compliance
