That was the question raised with a male employee who had been jokingly sexually approached, had his genitals grabbed, been grabbed – held and had mock sex with – in his complaint of sexual harassment.
Other workers thought it was a joke. But the affected employee was deeply distressed – no surprise there!
The award of damages was $35,000. No medical evidence was relied on. This reflects how bad the behaviour was as the award is on the high side where no specific damage is alleged.
The question remains for WorkSafe – why do employees have to chase their own remedy – where the breach of the OH&S Act is so obvious. WorkSafe needs to be out there stopping such harassment, prosecuting those who do and changing workplace perceptions of when a joke is just criminal!
See Thomas v Alexiou