Harassment is a type of unlawful discrimination.
Where a worker is subjected to ‘unwanted conduct’ related to their protected characteristic (normally sex, sexual orientation, race, disability, religion or belief) which has the purpose or effect of violating the worker’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the worker.
It doesn't matter if the harasser didn't intend the conduct to have this effect but a worker is not protected if it is not reasonable for them to perceive the treatment as harassment. An example would be where the worker has participated in the conduct (eg: banter).
These cases require specifics: dates, times, what happened and how the incidents can be proven. Without these, it can be very difficult to succeed. Supporting evidence can often tip the balance: emails, texts or statements from other employees.
The starting point is normally to put in a grievance.
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