Allegations of harassment at the CBI have left the reputation of former boss Tony Danker in tatters. Reports of sexual harassment and even rape at work events demonstrate how important it is for employers to equip staff with knowledge of what to do in difficult situations, says Carolyn Pearson.
Tony Danker, former head of business group the CBI, is in the news this week claiming that his reputation has been “totally destroyed” after he was fired over allegations of harassment.
He believes his name has been wrongly associated with separate and more serious CBI harassment claims, including allegations that a woman was raped at a CBI boat party in 2019. The trade group is now mired in controversy, with well-known City equality campaigner Baroness Morrissey calling for member firms to step away.
Meanwhile the Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade have suspended engagement with the CBI pending a full investigation, and numerous big businesses including M&S, Rolls Royce and EY are said to be considering their position.
Duty of care
Whatever their line of work, employers have a duty of care to protect their employees attending business and work-related social events which are deemed an extension of the workplace.
CBI harassment claims
Whether attending a company Christmas party, a conference, exhibition or an event organised by a corporate partner, employees have the right to remain safe.
Most organisations will have policies related to employee conduct, equality and harassment are generally in place, it seems that some employees need a reminder that this extends to events outside of the head office.
Remember that employers can be vicariously liable for the actions of their employees, even when it comes to off-site events.
Sadly, it seems that inappropriate behaviour at corporate and industry events continues unchecked. Often the perpetrators are well-known, the behaviour laughed-off or excused as “oh that’s just Tony”.
Furthermore, employees don’t always feel empowered to tackle or call out the offensive behaviour.
Difficult situations
During the course of my work, I have been saddened to speak to people who have encountered all manner of situations, including having a colleague turn up at their hotel room after a social event and another have a customer travel all the way from Turkey after he met her at company dinner. He went on to stalk the employee for a number of months before she moved roles.
Unfortunately, it’s often the victim that has to take responsibility for avoiding a perpetrator rather than perpetrators being held to account. As employers we can tackle this issue using a holistic approach.
Code of conduct
Be clear that employees are bound by their obligation to conduct themselves professionally at work-related events.
They must not damage the reputation of the company and must conduct themselves respectfully towards their colleagues, peers and other attendees.
It’s also important to outline the consequences of not doing so clearly, including taking decisive disciplinary action.
Preparing attendees
Providing employees with pre-event training will equip them to deal with a situation before it escalates.
This could involve training employees to do the following:
- Team up with an event buddy, so that they check-in with each other and provide support in the event of an incident such as drink spiking, unwanted attention, bag theft or illness.
- Be empowered to respond to unwanted attention swiftly and assertively.
- Learn and practise some elegant ‘pre-cooked excuses’ as to why they can’t accept a drink or invitation.
- Practise situational awareness, to plan their escape routes and identify people who could provide assistance.
- How to be an active bystander, to spot colleagues who may be in a spot of trouble and how they can support them through techniques such as distraction, directing the perpetrator or documenting the incident.
- Know that sexual harassment extends to company events and to know their rights when it comes to speaking up and reporting an incident.
Training works especially well when employees can report incidents anonymously beforehand. These are usually very enlightening and can be used as case studies and as a pointer towards areas that need improvement.
Reporting of incidents
Provide employees with a safe means to report incidents of misconduct. This can be a difficult time for them, particularly where the perpetrator is senior to the victim, is a valued customer, significant charity donor or senior government official.
It’s important that the employee feels listened to, is given the right psychological support and that any investigation is conducted in a sympathetic way, at a speed with which they are comfortable.
In my experience, passing them on to a third-party employee assistance programme is not enough and may discourage employees from reporting an incident.
It’s also worth having somebody “on duty”. Appointing colleagues to support delegates and deal with any incidents is good practice, letting attendees know in advance who their point of contact is.
Alcohol
Alcohol at company events increases the risk of incidents exponentially. Again, it’s helpful to stipulate acceptable protocol and remember to provide non-alcoholic beverages so as not to be seen to be encouraging over-consumption and to avoid alienating non-drinkers.
Ultimately business events and socials are an excellent way to build collaboration, drive company objectives and team spirit. Many employees enjoy the benefits of attending business events and social gatherings.
Having the right culture, processes, policies and training in place will go a long way towards ensuring that you are able to fulfil your duty of care obligation to keep employees safe.
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