What if an act of harassment is neither in relation to a group nor specifically directed at any individual?

Posted in : Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 7 December 2018
Seamus McGranaghan
O'Reilly Stewart Solicitors
Issues covered:

Q: The definition of harassment considers action toward an individual or group, but what if that action isn't in relation to a group, but not specifically directed to any individual?

Scott: We have an example. Say an employee A has a partner, niece, nephew, etc., of African descent. Another employee, B, regularly makes derogatory jokes about people of African descent with employee A. Employee A reports this. Obviously employee B can be disciplined in line with dignity at work. But could employee B subjected to disciplinary action under the harassment policy? Is there ever a time when harassment can be claimed when not specifically directed towards and individual?

Seamus: Well, this has been

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This article is correct at 07/12/2018
Disclaimer:

The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.

Seamus McGranaghan
O'Reilly Stewart Solicitors

The main content of this article was provided by Seamus McGranaghan. Contact telephone number is 028 9032 1000 or email seamus.mcgranaghan@oreillystewart.com

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