CC LEGAL
Harassment at the place of work by Av Charlene Gauci
A
ll places of work should offer a safe working environment, whereby employers and employees are able to carry out work efficiently and productively, free from any type of harassment. The Employment and Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 452 of the Laws of Malta (hereinafter referred to as EIRA) makes a distinction between harassment of a more general kind, and sexual harassment which is classified under its own specific category. Article 29(1) of the EIRA explains that harassment takes place whenever an employee or employer is subjected to “any unwelcome act, request or conduct, including spoken words, gestures or the production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other material, which in respect of that person is based on sexual 50
discrimination and which could reasonably be regarded as offensive, humiliating or intimidating to such per son.� Unwelcome behaviour by a colleague which is aimed at offending, humiliating or intimidating a person is therefore tantamount to harassment. Such behaviour could leave an impact on the emotional well-being of an individual, who would feel constantly ridiculed and uncomfortable at the place of work. Many employees recount stories of having to go through such ordeals. Although even one instance of such unwelcome behaviour is enough to constitute harassment, oftentimes this situation is made even worse as other colleagues start joining in, rather than exhibit clear concern and disapproval at these acts of harassment. This tends to leave the individual feeling
more isolated at the place of work, as, naturally, the person in question would become more preoccupied with avoiding or tackling such behaviour on a day-to-day basis rather than with the workload itself. Article 29(2) of the EIRA goes a step further and explains in more detail a more specific type of harassment, commonly known as sexual harassment. This type of harassment takes place whenever sexual favours are requested from the victim, or when the victim is subjected to an act of unwelcome physical intimacy. This behaviour is usually preceded by any act or conduct with sexual connotations against the victim, which behaviour in and of itself also constitutes sexual harassment. As explained by Article 29(2) of the EIRA, the latter behaviour includes,
JUNE/JULY 2020