What if colleagues want a sexual relationship?
A relationship where both people are involved of their own free will is not harassment. However, if one person decides to end the relationship, the other does not have the right to insist, or to continue the sexual attention. And managers should be cautious when getting involved with workers, especially anyone who is under their supervision. The imbalance of power may mean that the worker has not actually consented, but feels coerced into the relationship. What if my employer doesn’t know harassment is taking place? Only employers can really prevent harassment in the workplace. So the ultimate responsibility rests with them. The law says that even an employer who didn’t actually know about the harassment is still responsible, if he or she should have known it was occurring. If an employer can show that he or she took all reasonable steps to prevent and deal with harassment, the legal and financial consequences may well be less severe. Can it be harassment if it only happened once? Yes.
