Hospitality launches action plan to tackle sexual harassment

Hospitality has agreed a strict “zero-tolerance” approach to sexual harassment with the launch of a new action plan.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and UKHospitality have worked together to produce a “practical resource” to stop the harassment of hospitality staff being seen as ‘just part of the job’.

According to the associations, the new guidance helps venues to put “appropriate” structures in place to protect their employees. It advises venues to have “consistent” policies for dealing with customers who behave “inappropriately” around staff, including warning systems, instant removal or banning.

The resource also contains safety and preventative advice, such as asking managers to avoid having a single member of staff wait on a large group.

The guidance can be applied to any workplace.

Marcial Boo, chief executive of the EHRC, said: “We are determined to crack down on any culture of unacceptable sexual harassment in bars, restaurants or hotels in Britain.

“All employers have a duty of care to their staff. This means that inappropriate behaviour, whether lewd jokes, sexist comments or wandering hands, should never be ‘just part of the job’, even when your customers have consumed alcohol.”

Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality chief executive, added: “There can be no place for sexual harassment within hospitality, so this new checklist and action plan to drive it out of our industry is a very welcome step in the right direction.

“UKHospitality has for some years engaged with employee organisations and the health and safety executive to discuss solutions to safeguard hospitality staff, particularly those in potentially vulnerable roles, but clearly more needs to be done if we’re to rid ourselves of inappropriate and unwanted workplace behaviour.”