Labour floats new sexual harassment at work protections

15 June 2018

Speaking at the BFAWU conference this week, leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn vowed to clamp down on sexual harassment in the workplace.

“Sexual harassment is a scourge in our society,” he said. “Without proper rights, contracts and union representation, hospitality staff are at greater risk of being harassed and abused in their workplace.”

The proposals – being described as a “MeToo workplace revolution” – are for mandatory reporting of anti-harassment policies and actions taken to put it into practice, doubling the timeframe within which harassment cases can be taken to tribunal, and banning the use of non-disclosure agreements to gag victims of assault and discrimination.

“Labour will bring about a workplace rights revolution, so people are free to do their jobs, in the hospitality sector and beyond, without facing unacceptable behaviour and abuses of power from colleagues, clients or customers,” Corbyn said.

The Party referred to a study by Unite, which found 89% of worker have experienced sexual harassment at work and 77% said their workplace did not have a policy in place to address the problem.

Corbyn also revealed a policy to prevent restaurants and bars from taking a cut from tips that are intended for workers.