HR news briefing News and analysis
what June means for you
Most LGBT staff have been sexually harassed at work
What you should know:
Most LGBT employees have
experienced sexual
harassment at work, TUC
research has found. Its report
was published to coincide
with International Day
against Homophobia,
Transphobia, and Biphobia,
and revealed that more than
two-thirds (68%) of LGBT
workers have experienced at
least one type of sexual
harassment. Forty-two per
cent had received unwelcome
comments or questions, while
35% reported unwanted
touching, and 12% said they
had been seriously sexually
assaulted or raped.
LGBT people told the TUC
that these experiences had
hugely affected their lives,
with 16% stating it had
affected their mental health,
and the same proportion
(16%) saying it had caused
them to leave their jobs.
What you should do:
Laura Darnley, employment
associate at HRC Law, said
that there needs to be a
significant shift in attitudes to
end discrimination.
“Although policies for
dealing with these issues are
important they cannot solve
the problem in isolation,” she
said. “Managers and
employees also need to be
trained to understand what is
acceptable behaviour in the
workplace and what is not.
“Ultimately, unless
there’s a commitment at
the highest level within
organisations to address
this problem, it is not
going to go away.”
Employers may find
that if they don’t enact
change they’ll be
mandated to do so, she
added: “Inevitably there
needs to be a cultural shift
and a wider acceptance of
the LGBT+ community in all
workplaces. Employers need
to embed this into their HR
agenda in the same way as
they are addressing other
areas – like gender inequality
or ethnicity – to ensure these
issues are tackled at the most
fundamental level.
“If employers are unable
or unwilling to do this
voluntarily they may
ultimately find that the law
is changed to force them to
do so.”
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Hussle
hrmagazine.co.uk June 2019 HR 11
/hrmagazine.co.uk