Sexual Harassment-Case Study Dear All, One of my friends lost his job on sexual harassment falsely foisted against him. An allegation is made by his own subordinate, since my friend is very strict in his job. About my friend : He is in HR field for more than 10 years. Due to his better performance he has got good career growth. About two years back he joined that Co. During his confirmation he got promotion with almost 90% inc. in salary. This has created lot of unpleasantness among other employees. There are two subordinates working under him, both are female employees. About the subordinate (Say S1) : a. This is her first job and joined the co. about two-three months before. b. She was not sincere in her job and her efforts in learning was also very poor. c. He has advised her no. of times to improve her performance. d. She is a bachelor. About another subordinate (S2) : a. She got prior experience and good at work. b. she has taken his advise in right spirit and improved her performance. c. She is a married girl. Issue : They very often have get-togethers among their employees. During one of the get-togethers, these two subordinates along with a Security Manager (not my friend) took photographs. S1 informed S2 that she would send this photograph after editing (removing her picture) and send it to her husband. S2 got annoyed and given a complaint to the HR Manager (my friend). He started conducting enquiry on this issue. All of a sudden, S1 sent a letter (dated well prior to the incident) to the GM of the Unit alleging that he was sexually harassed by HR Manager. He was asked to submit his resignation. Since he refused to submit his resignation and demanded for enquiry, they conducted a third party enquiry and based on the report they dismissed him. The enquiry was also biased one, since he was not given any opportunity either to cross-examine the opposite parties. Even he has shown lot of evidences like; photographs along with others during the other occasions after the so called incident's date. He was also invited for a birth day party of one of the "eye-witnesses". After end of the enquiry and before he was served the dismissal order, he made a representation to the Enquiry Officer about the availability of some more proof (mails sent by GM to the Operations Head about his refusal of submitting resignation and whether to terminate him. These mails were sent well before conduct of the enquiry). In view of the above, I request all our HR colleagues to give your suggestions on the following : a. They have a Sexual Harassment Committee as required by the statute. No complaint was made to the Committee and no enquiry was also conducted by them. b. Whether he can proceed legally, if so, how ? c. They have not given any reply to the S2's complaint against S1. This was also made as a point in the enquiry, but no answer was given.
From India, Madras
2From India, Madras
Dear friend, As far as my knowledge goes the above enquiry has defeated the principles of natural justice. You have a strong case in your side and you should immediately tell your friend to consult a legal advisor (labour lawyer) and file case in the labour court. You stand a good chance. Regards
From India, New Delhi
From India, New Delhi
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