Leo Briggs, deputy head at the Dental Defence Union (DDU), and Dan Carder, content consultant at Peninsula Business Services, discuss what is meant by harassment and how to eliminate it within the dental practice.
What constitutes as harassment?
Harassment, in particular sexual harassment, continues to dominate headlines and be a significant issue in the workplace. The Government Equalities Office estimates that almost 72% of the UK population has experienced sexual harassment at work in their lifetime. Worryingly, those in healthcare are three times more likely to experience sexual harassment than any other profession.
Furthermore, it is even more important now for this to be high on employers’ agenda given that the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 came into effect from October 2024, placing a legal obligation on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
When you think about harassment you might consider that it is just related to spoken words or physical actions, but harassment can occur in a wide range of situations. It is also important to remember that anyone can be a victim of harassment.
Harassment is a term that employees may use to describe behaviour without realising that there is a specific legal definition as to what amounts to harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
Harassment is behaviour and/or unwanted conduct, and it must relate to someone’s disability, race, religion, pregnancy/maternity, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, or marriage/civil partnership. These are ‘protected characteristics’.
Harassment allegations
The employee who alleges that they have been subjected to the unwanted conduct, however, does not necessarily have to possess that protected characteristic themselves, but the unwanted conduct must still relate to it.
The unwanted conduct, related to a protected characteristic, must also have the purpose or effect of violating their dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Sexual harassment is where there is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. It doesn’t matter if the behaviour was not intended to have that effect, if it does then that could amount to harassment.
Any allegation of harassment must be taken seriously, and practice owners have a duty to protect employees including harassment from third parties such as self-employed clinicians or patients.
Failure to meet this duty can lead to a serious employment contract breach, a claim of harassment, constructive dismissal, or in a case of sexual harassment, a complaint to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Consequently, not taking action can have wider implications and can lead to poor performance, absence and even resignation.
Tackling harassment in the dental practice
Employees should expect to be able to come to work and not face any form of harassment. All employers should therefore have a zero-tolerance stance towards harassment in the workplace and as such, it is the responsibility of practice owners and managers to recognise underlying tensions or inappropriate behaviours as quickly as possible. It’s in the interest of the practice and profession to eradicate harassment, so that everyone can work in a safe environment of mutual respect.
If employees are harassed, they can bring a claim in an employment tribunal against the individual who behaved in that way but also against the employer. Employers can therefore be liable for harassment taking place even if they were not involved in the wrongdoing, didn’t know, or condone such behaviour.
Employers should also remember that under the new preventative duty, no incident of sexual harassment needs to have taken place in order for an employee to make a complaint to the EHRC. If an employee feels the employer is not taking enough steps to prevent it, a complaint can still be made.
As such, it’s vital that employers have certain things in place and have taken steps to demonstrate their zero-tolerance stance. This will include having an anti-harassment policy which may be a standalone policy or part of a wider equality policy.
Employers should also require employees to undertake training on what harassment is and how it can happen even when someone does not mean it. Employees should be clear that all forms of harassment are not acceptable, and action will be taken if it is found that someone has been subjected to harassment. Indeed, employees should know that it is so serious that they are risking their job if they subject someone to harassment.
Culture of respect
Practice owners must take steps to prevent sexual harassment and treat any allegations seriously, fairly, and sensitively. Some complaints can be dealt with on an informal basis where the alleged perpetrator is notified that the behaviour is unacceptable. However, staff who think they have been subject to harassment should be made aware of the practice sexual harassment policy so they can decide if they want to pursue a formal complaint or if they want it dealt with informally.
There should also be clear and simple mechanisms in place to report alleged harassment that are open to all to use. For example, by someone who has seen alleged harassment occurring and employees who allege that they have been harassed themselves. Reports of harassment should be taken seriously no matter who the alleged harasser is and the employee making the allegation should not be subject to any detriment.
It may be appropriate to offer counselling for the affected employee. This can be a confidential, yet informal, way to discuss the situation. Professional counselling services should be available, through the employee’s GP or from the NHS occupational health team if it is available to the practice.
It is key that nothing should go unaddressed – if the behaviour is not appropriate then it should not be allowed in the workplace. A culture of respect and professionalism should be communicated from the outset and followed at every organisational level from the top-down.
Harassment should be grounds to terminate the employment of an employee or a self-employed clinician. If the individual is a patient, then you should consider explaining that they cannot return to the practice due to the irrevocable breakdown in the patient-practice relationship.
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