Bosses may get more power to boot sex pests from workplace
Two in five women and one in four men have been sexually harassed at work in the past five years but a proposal by the federal government could soon allow employers to sack sex fiends more easily.
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Bosses will be given stronger powers to sack sex pests and must take all reasonable steps to eliminate sexual harassment under a radical new federal blueprint.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins on Thursday launched the Respect@Work report — the result of an 18-month inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.
It drew on a previous study by the Human Rights Commission of 10,000 people that showed 72 per cent of Australians have been sexually harassed at some point in their lives.
Two in five women and one in four men have been sexually harassed at work in the past five years, the survey found.
The latest report’s 55 recommendations include a “positive duty on all employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation”.
It also recommends new disclosure processes to make it easier for victims of historical workplace sexual harassment matters to make complaints.
The report involved consultations with more than 600 people and 460 public submissions.
It also suggests:
CHANGES to the Fair Work Act to ensure sexual harassment of others is a valid reason for dismissal;
ASX companies should report on measures they take to address sexual harassment through training and workplace culture change;
RECOGNITION that sexual harassment is driven by gender inequality and is a form of gender-based violence;
THE introduction of a stop sexual harassment order in the Fair Work Commission similar to a stop bullying order.
“I feel privileged that so many Australians shared with us their personal experiences of sexual harassment at work, and I have been dismayed by the harms suffered by victims and the cost to the economy,” Ms Jenkins said.
“However, I have also been heartened by the whole-of-community response to the National Inquiry. Australia wants change.”
The report states that current system for addressing workplace sexual harassment is flawed because it relies on individuals to make a complaint, and is complex and confusing.
“In this report, I have recommended a new model that improves the coordination, consistency and clarity between the anti-discrimination, employment and work health and safety legislative schemes,” Ms Jenkins said.
“Sexual harassment is not a women’s issue: it is a societal issue which every Australian, and every Australian workplace, can contribute to addressing,” she said.
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