In the post-Harvey Weinstein era the spotlight has landed squarely on employers’ responsibilities in providing an harassment-free workplace.

Many workplaces are reporting a steep increase in employees reporting incidents of sexual harassment.

Employers can be held vicariously liable for the actions of their employees if the employer fails to take ALL reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment occurring in their workplace.

These steps include:

• A clearly written sexual harassment policy which should include words like “Sexual harassment is against the law and may lead to both employer and employee being held liable”.
• A strategy to clearly communicate this policy
• Regular training of employees on the policy, preferably face-to face and twice yearly
• A grievance procedure which is accessible and effective
• A process to investigate claims of sexual harassment

You need to have all of these things in place to be able to argue that you have taken all reasonable steps to reduce the chance of any of your employees being sexually harassed in your workplace.

If you’re interested in reducing your risk of vicarious liability you should investigate harassment awareness training for both staff and managers, get a clear policy and a well-communicated grievance procedure. You should also appoint a contact officer to whom incidents are first reported.

It’s affordable, not time-consuming and will help protect you and your business. Talk to your outsourced HR consultant for further advice.

Employers in NSW and the ACT, and to a lesser extent Victoria, need to be aware of the their legal position in regard to covert surveillance of their employers. Employers located in other states should get specific advice relevant to their particular state.

As an employer you can only “spy” on your employees provided you have told them that you might do so! This could be in the form of a policy which you get each employee to sign off against as having read and understood. It can be part of your employment contract although common practice is to have it as a policy appearing in your HR handbook.

Not only must you inform staff that their use of email may be checked, that you may have cameras installed in the workplace and that you will from time to time check their social media usage it is imperative that your policy states that this information may be used against them and could lead to them losing their job.

Failure to properly warn employees that you may be using covert surveillance in the workplace could expose your business to hefty penalties under workplace privacy laws. Please seek appropriate advice if you require guidance on this important matter.

It’s confusing that we have 2 workplace relations regulators in Australia with very similar titles.

They both have different roles though and it’s important that HR people understand their different functions.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO)

Generally, the FWO makes employers comply with the Fair Work Act, awards and registered agreements. They also provide advice to both employers and employees on award interpretation, rates of pay and workplace entitlements.

Typically, the FWO:

• helps resolve workplace issues around compliance with possible breaches of employment law, awards and registered agreements
• seeks penalties for any breaches of the above
• enforces orders made by the Fair Work Commission
• educates employers and employees on employment law, workplace conditions and the rights and obligations of both parties.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) (previously Fair Work Australia)

The FWC is the independent workplace relations tribunal working across all states and territories of Australia. Its main function is to maintain a safety net of minimum wages and employment conditions.

The FWC also:

• hears unfair dismissal and unlawful termination applications
• resolves general protection claims
• investigates bullying and harassment cases
• approves registered agreements and makes changes to pay and entitlements in awards and registered agreements
• makes decisions about industrial action and union activity.

The work Christmas party

It’s that time of year and you’ve no doubt already booked your venue for the annual celebration of your business’ stellar performance throughout the year. You want to thank your employees for their massive contribution and you probably feel like letting your hair down a bit too.

That’s great but it’s prudent to have a few checks in place before the big event.

• You no doubt already have strong policies on bullying and sexual harassment. Good time now to remind staff of these policies and to review what is expected of people generally when they attend a work-related function
• On the day of the function make sure at least one senior manager is present at all times during the function. It’s preferable that this person doesn’t drink at all. You can solicit the help of any other non-drinkers if they’re willing to keep an eye on things
• Make sure you serve non-alcoholic drinks and plenty of food, keeping in mind any special dietary requirements
• If anyone seems drunk they should be immediately cut off from the bar and sent home in a cab
• Have a definite start and end time for your function and make sure people leave the venue when the time arrives. Don’t let people linger at the same venue. If they want to kick on they have to go somewhere else.
• Do not let anyone use their corporate credit card at a different venue
• Make sure people can get home easily once the party is over. You could set up a work Uber account and have a designated person available to book people’s trips home

Social Media Screening Can Benefit Both Job Seekers and Human Resources

Thanks to a recent study commissioned by CareerBuilder, there now exist firm numbers on the prevalence of a relatively new practice in human resources departments across the country: social media screening. According to the CareerBuilder study, 70% of companies in various industries all across the American private sector now factor in a potential hire’s social media profile in their hiring decision making process.

Social media screening can be described as the judicious and appropriate weighing of a potential hire’s social media presence for clues as to how well their interview performance and resume matches up with their online personas. This practice is showing no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, the study mentioned above indicates it is gaining momentum as companies search for any advantage they can get in a highly competitive recruitment and business environment.

This relatively new candidate vetting practice is growing in importance to many HR managers. Crucial for these HR personnel is to find out if a potential hire has both the talent and required competencies, but also whose personality and behavior will likely prove a good fit for their business’ culture.

The stakes of making good hiring decisions are high, as is illustrated in statistics that show the costs associated with hiring the wrong candidate. According to the U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics, the average costs of a new hire that doesn’t work out can equal 30% of that hire’s entire first-year compensation.

Job seekers should remember a few important insights as uncovered by the CareerBuilder study. By far the largest single reason, at 61%, that hirers turned to social media when candidate vetting was to support their initial impression that a candidate was qualified for the job. Other reasons given by managers was to view what, if any, type of professional web presence they had, and to see what other people were perhaps saying about a candidate.

Job seekers need not fret about their online personas too much. They should take this new trend as the opportunity it is to establish a positive online presence wherever possible. Also, try to resist the temptation when chasing your dream job to delete any and all online information you were even marginally associated with. Managers reportedly actually think less of a candidate if they have no hint of an online presence.

Hiring a low to mid-level employee used to entail more of a leap of faith than it does today. Filling low to mid-level positions usually involves considering a host of younger applicants who necessarily have less in the way of job experience or achievements to tout.

Sophisticated hiring and recruitment tools, such as those offered by the business hiring solutions firm Fama, use advanced A.I.-based screening tools to fill in important information gaps about prospective new hires, especially younger candidates with less job experience.

Social media screening can provide the insights that many HR managers have traditionally struggled to attain. Though a candidate may appear clearly qualified and competent, the question usually stubbornly remained whether they would successfully integrate within the prevailing culture of a business. In short, hiring decision makers now have an effective tool at their fingertips to appropriately use social media to turn hiring, especially when it comes to younger candidates, from a leap of faith into more of a hop.

This is a guest blog from Fama.

Those of us involved in the recruitment game sometimes get criticised for the way we operate. Failure to acknowledge receipt of applications, misrepresenting the role to be filled and lack of feedback throughout the selection process are all common complaints.

I proposed a very simple code of conduct for recruiters 2 years ago. Here’s my update:

• Make sure the job ad accurately portrays the role you’re trying to fill – you may need to be assertive with your client to paint a realistic picture of the Company and the advertised position
• Avoid jargon and euphemistic phrases in your job ad
• Makes sure that you aren’t unintentionally discriminating against possible applicants by your choice of language
• Always acknowledge receipt of an application within 24 hours
• Leave at least 30 minutes between interviews
• Take notes during interviews and use them for feedback
• Provide timely feedback to both successful and unsuccessful candidates
• Prepare a brief for your client listing the short-listed candidates and your reasons for presenting them to the client – show clearly how their background and education are a good fit for the role you’re trying to fill
• Get useful feedback from your client as to why someone wasn’t successful
• Offer to meet unsuccessful candidates to properly debrief the process and share the feedback you got from your client
• Do at least 2 reference checks on the successful candidate but only after your client has chosen that particular person. Reference checks should never be used as a way to differentiate between candidates
• Recommend to your client that they do a background check (and, in some cases, a police check) on the successful candidate. There are  a number of good companies out there who can do this work for you
• Follow up regularly with your client and the successful candidate once they have started their new role
• Make sure your client has regular reviews with your candidate, particularly during the first 6 months of employment
• Keep in touch with unsuccessful candidates you particularly liked – you may be able to place them next time.

Do you have a horror recruitment story to tell? Please leave a comment below.