Every day, people across the UK are sexually harassed at work. The TUC has found that:
- 1 in 2 women have been sexually harassed at work.
- Over 2 in 3 (68%) LGBT workers have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
- 4 out of 5 don’t feel able to report sexual harassment to their employer.
Sign the petition to Penny Mordaunt MP, Minister for Women and Equalities
‘UK Gov: Act to prevent sexual harassment at work’ created by #ThisIsNotWorking Alliance at:
https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/uk-gov-act-to-prevent-sexual-harassment-at-work
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “We very much welcome this new TUC campaign. It complements Usdaw’s own ‘Call It Out’ campaign, which promotes our belief that everyone has the right to work in a safe and supportive environment.
“Our aim is to promote workplace campaign activity on this issue and let Usdaw members know what sexual harassment is and how to report it. Current laws put the onus on individuals to report such incidents, but it should not be down to the individual to prevent and manage their harassment alone. Employers need to protect their staff from harassment; it should be a part of their duty of care.
“The Usdaw and TUC campaigns make it clear that workers don’t have to experience sexual harassment and workers should ‘call it out’, challenging comments and actions of a sexual nature. Usdaw has a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment in the workplace and we urge the Government to listen to this petition and act with urgency”.
A new, easily enforceable legal duty requiring employers to take all reasonable steps to protect workers from sexual harassment and victimisation could include:
- Compulsory guidance to explain exactly what employers need to do to preventharassment — things like mandatory training.
- Ability to report anonymously to the regulator, bypassing toxic workplaceenvironments that leave victims unable to speak out.
- Consequences for employers who don’t comply with the measures,making sure the onus lies not with the individual but with employers.
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 410,000 members. Membership has increased by more than one-third over the last couple of decades. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
@UsdawUnion