Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

HR practice

Employees left ‘in the dark’ on key HR issues

by Laura Chamberlain 26 Jul 2012
by Laura Chamberlain 26 Jul 2012

Employers are leaving workers unaware of how to deal with stressful situations like sexism or racism in the workplace by failing to provide them with the guidance they need.

This is according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance, which found that two-thirds (64%) of employees feel they have been left without official company advice or support on how to deal with sexism in the workplace and more than half (55%) have received no guidance on dealing with racism at work.

In addition, 70% of employees said they didn’t know their employer’s official procedure on dealing with unwanted sexual advances from colleagues.

Canada Life Group Insurance has warned that employers that fail to communicate official procedures on dealing with problems at work risk employees going on sick leave to avoid stressful situations or, in extreme cases, taking legal action against them.

According to the survey of 1,607 employees, 10% have called in sick because of perceived bullying in the workplace and more than half (54%) have taken time off due to problems caused by their colleagues or workload.

Paul Avis, sales and marketing director at Canada Life Group Insurance, said: “It is extremely worrying that so many employees are unsure of how to deal with serious problems in the workplace.

“These issues are not only upsetting and stressful for employees, meaning that they may try to avoid them by calling in sick, but could escalate into potential legal action.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

He urged employers to ensure that they communicate with their employees about how they should handle such problems to make sure they feel supported at work.








FAQs on discrimination, bullying and harassment



  • Can employers be held liable for harassment that takes place during a work-related social event?

  • Is an employer liable for offensive and/or potentially discriminatory material or comments posted on its intranet bulletin board?

  • Is it lawful for an employer to dismiss a complaint of harassment or bullying from an employee who is thought to be “over-sensitive”?

  • Are employers liable for any racial discrimination suffered by employees?

  • When is an employer liable for sex discrimination?

Laura Chamberlain

previous post
Court of Appeal: Workers entitled to paid annual leave even when off sick
next post
Gap between pay awards and inflation tightens

You may also like

What do HR specialists enjoy most about their...

21 Mar 2025

King’s College London get top marks for HR...

20 Nov 2024

Personnel Today Awards 2024: The shortlists in full

13 Nov 2024

CIPD launches HR support pilot scheme for SMEs

7 Oct 2024

Are managers equipped to handle workplace conflict?

24 Sep 2024

Reimagining the employee lifecycle as a public sector...

5 Sep 2024

Employers urged to take action during riots

7 Aug 2024

HR changes save NHS Wales board £740k and...

6 Aug 2024

HR ‘unprepared’ for AI workforce revolution

29 May 2024

Tarantula-pranking train driver reinstated and awarded £40k

28 Feb 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+