in this video I want to take a look at something it's very topical at the
moment sexual harassment in the workplace and what are the remedies how
its defined how you handle it and what courses of action are open to you if you
are the unfortunate victim of sexual harassment so let's take a look firstly
sexual harassment is defined in section 8 of the Equality Act 2004 two summers
up and to get it down to its essence references to sexual harassment or any
form of variable non verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which either
has the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity and creating an
intimidating hostile degrading humiliating or offensive environment for
the person you are note from that definition that it's a case where the
purpose or effect is of violating the person's dignity
therefore the intention of the perpetrator is completely irrelevant so
if the effect or of the purpose is to violate a person's dignity and its own
waters the conduct of a sexual nature will then it will constitute sexual
harassment it can be carried out by an employer by a fellow employee by a
customer or client in the workplace or even a business contact of the employer
so this particular sexual harassment is sexual harassment that you might
encounter in the workplace and it's protected by the employment equality
legislation under the discrimination grounds and specific offense then of
harassment or sexual harassment so that's why I am referring here to the
whole question of the employer fellow employees business contacts of the
employer and so on the employer is liable that is
vicarious liability is a feature of this offense because section 15 of the
employment Equality Act 1988 provides that the employer is really liable for
the actions of his employees whether he was aware or not of those actions
essentially an employer has an obligation to know what's going on in
the workplace and he will be held liable for the conduct of staff of employees
our business contacts because there is Macarius liability sat down in the
legislation in the employment ecology Act of 1998 the burden of proof then is
something which starts out with the complainant however it shifts shifts
from the complainant from the employee to the employer so essentially where in
any proceedings facts are established on behalf of the complainant from which it
may be presumed that there has been discrimination in relation to him or her
is for the respondent to prove the contrary that means that if you are an
employee and you are complaining about the discrimination you have been a
victim of discrimination what you need to do is establish facts of which a
reasonable inference can be drawn that you have been discriminated against you
need to push forward facts from which prima facie case can be established once
you do that the burden of proof shifts from you to the employer the employer
must improve that discrimination or sexual harassment did not take place
redressed and if you're a victim firstly you can bring a claim to the workplace
relations commission who can award up to two years salary two years of
remuneration you can also go directly for sexual harassment claims to the
Circuit Court and they can award up to the maximum of the Circuit Court
jurisdiction which on the eighth day of April 2018 is seventy five thousand also
it's possible that an employee who has been the victim of sexual harassment may
suffer psychological injury resulted that if that's the case
then it's open to the employee to also bring a personal injury claim and that
claim can be brought within two years of the injury so at a time that's six
months in km2 the WRC however if you can show reasonable cost and that six months
can be extended to twelve months that is from the last act of harassment if the
person injury claim then it's two years from the date of injury or discovery of
the injury and that claim goes to the civil courts and if it's a breach of
contract claim that would be a six year statute of limitations so the pressure
personal injury claim and the breach of contract came will go through the
appropriate court either the Circuit probably or the High Court
they are my contact details I hope you find this video useful if you do you
might give it a thumbs up down below and you may be interested in subscribing to
a YouTube channel if sexual harassment is something does has occurred to you
you take you may be the victim or indeed you may be an employer with a concern
about how to respond to an allegation of sexual harassment in the workplace
my contact details are there on the screen