Building a working environment free from harassment and sexual harassment: Reporting procedures

Lisa

About the author

Lisa Bell is the founder of Tell Jane, a leading global HR Consultancy and training partner that specialises in preventing sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying in the workplace. Tell Jane also provides powerful change training when incidents do occur and helps build better cultures and challenges toxic behaviour in the workplace. 


huberman_b.jpg

Brightmine editor

Bar Huberman, a former solicitor, is content manager for the HR & Compliance Centre HR strategy and practice team, having developed strategic guidance for HR professionals since 2009.

 

Overview

This series of Leading practice guides looks at how to create a working environment free from all forms of harassment and why HR and the organisations they represent need to prioritise this issue.

While many organisations already have an established procedure for employees to report harassment, harassment and sexual harassment is still underreported. In the third guide in this series, we look at the factors to consider when implementing reporting procedures that will inspire confidence in the organisation and encourage people to report incidents of harassment.

Other guides in the series:

While this series of guides does not provide specific guidance on the proposed changes to the law on harassment in the Employment Rights Bill, expected to come into force in 2026, following the steps outlined will help employers to prepare for compliance with the proposed changes. For more information on the Employment Rights Bill, see the Future developments section of our Employment law guide on Harassment.

Flexible, easy access and simple reporting procedures

One of the issues employees raise in reporting sexual harassment is the unclear, pedantic, and sometimes incomprehensible reporting procedures which marginalise resolution and redress. It is difficult enough for an employee to come forward to report that they have been subject to sexual harassment and when faced with a process which is difficult to navigate, they may opt to abandon reporting altogether. Added to that, although some organisations have some kind of anonymous reporting system in place, most require employees to come forward and disclose their identities. Together, employees are being pushed further away from reporting.

Harvard Business Review, Empower Managers to Stop Harassment

Organisations should avoid making reporting requirements too restrictive. While it is helpful to set out in your harassment and sexual harassment policy how employees should report, requiring employees to complete a specified form will put some people off. Making a decision to report can be difficult enough without having to complete a standard template.

However, it is vital that, not only are reporting lines clear to everyone involved, but also what should be reported and in what way. Clear and transparent reporting supports both reporter and investigator perspectives. All parties will feel more confident with a clearly laid out reporting process, compared with a "discuss it with a manager" approach. The ongoing effect might also be that more people feel comfortable in coming forward.

The best reporting procedures are flexible, providing multiple reporting methods that take account of everyone's preferences.

For example, the organisation might have an anonymous hotline, a dedicated email address and a complaint form.

The NHS, for example, has a Freedom To Speak Up Guardian (FTSU) in every NHS Trust, who is there to support people where issues have been raised but they feel that nothing has been done, or where a person feels it is not possible to speak up, perhaps because of the seniority of the perpetrator.

To encourage people to make a report of harassment or sexual harassment, HR should have an open-door policy and a welcoming approach. Also, ensure that executive team members regularly promote that workers can come and speak to them if they witness or experience unwanted conduct. They should ask their management teams to do the same and filter this message throughout the organisation. It is important that managers and leaders know what their responsibilities are when someone reports so that people feel supported when making the decision to report.

Leading employers make available a mixture of confidential and anonymous reporting approaches, including a clear and plain-speaking explanation about how each one works. They allow people to choose a reporting process that works for them, not the organisation.

You might also consider using third-party platforms or apps for reporting. Choose a third-party solution that can deliver confidence across the organisation that any report will always be treated fairly and without bias.

When choosing a third-party solution, consider the following:

  • Are the responders representative of an inclusive and diverse workforce?
  • What skill sets and qualifications do the people who are responding have?
  • How does the provider ensure that responders with the appropriate level of experience are assigned to deal with complaints, taking into account their seriousness?
  • Do the responders understand employment law?
  • Can the responders coach people to speak up for themselves if they would like to, for example where banter is out of control?

Any anti-harassment policy should also include clear guidelines on how complaints are handled, including what the next steps are and possible outcomes - this makes the process much easier and transparent for everyone involved.

Any reporting procedure should also stipulate what action might be taken following an investigation. This might include: internal changes, such as policy changes; physical changes, such as altered seating arrangements; additional training; or potential disciplinary action. It is important to set out options other than disciplinary action because a victim and other employees will want to see that the organisation has acted to prevent incidents occurring in the future.

Further, reporting procedures should not be hidden on corporate intranet sites, and employees should not have to ask their manager where to find them. Unfortunately, in many cases, it is the manager who is the perpetrator of harassment.

Therefore, you should regularly signpost the existence of the reporting procedure (which might be contained in the harassment and sexual harassment policy) so that employees know where to find it when incidents do occur. This might include at the end of training sessions; in organisational policies; across the company intranet; and during onboarding sessions. You could, for example, take the approach that anywhere that you share details of your employee assistance programme (EAP) you also share your harassment reporting mechanisms. The more you signpost the reporting mechanisms and policies, the better. Leaders and line managers should regularly communicate to their team that if anybody ever makes them feel uncomfortable at work for any reason, they can come and talk to them.

The key is that the policies and procedures are lived and breathed, and not kept only within a written policy or as a tick-box exercise.

It is also important to consider how you will ensure your reporting procedures are accessible by everyone, taking into account any barriers that may prevent people from reporting due to a disability. You might, for example, consider providing written, telephone, chat function and in-person options to ensure everyone can make a report.

Inspiring confidence in reporting procedures

Many victims of harassment do not report because they feel they will not be believed, or that they will suffer a disadvantage if they report. There are many ways you can help people to feel that they will be safe and supported when making a complaint, and thereby encourage them to report:

  • Power dynamics come into play in most cases of sexual harassment; many perpetrators are a senior figure or direct manager, so it is important to establish reporting processes where people can bypass their immediate line manager, and your policy should set out who these alternative reporting lines might be. For example, the policy might state that the first port of call is the victim's line manager, the HR department or any other senior leader or manager.
  • In addition to creating multiple channels for reporting (see Flexible, easy access and simple reporting procedures), include anonymous options, and ensure confidentiality.
  • The organisation should be seen to take appropriate action once a report is made and take each report seriously on a consistent basis. Make clear in your reporting procedure that you will take any report sincerely and respond professionally. Follow your organisation's disciplinary procedure and apply appropriate disciplinary action, and do so consistently. For more guidance see Handling complaints effectively.
  • Ensure that employees know that any reporting of harassment or sexual harassment can be made without fear of retribution or retaliation. Treating someone unfavourably because they have made a complaint is unlawful. Therefore, ensure that reporting procedures clearly articulate the confidentiality of reports and the commitment to non-retaliation for those who make a legitimate report of harassment, regardless of the outcome.
  • Reporting an incident of harassment can be a very difficult and uncomfortable step to take, so arranging for support for the victim can be hugely beneficial. See here for further guidance on this.

What if someone does not want to report an incident of harassment or sexual harassment?

While creating an environment that makes reporting easy and psychologically safe is vital, it is also important to think about mechanisms whereby a person may want support, but not be prepared or ready to make a formal complaint.

Consider what your organisation has in place to support such occurrences. Do you have, for example, mental health first-aiders? Do you have an EAP that offers workers a safe space to talk through professional and personal challenges? Does the EAP provide services to deal specifically with harassment and sexual harassment? See also Support for individual during investigation.

Make the available support clear in any relevant policies and communications, as well as how to access the support.

Anonymity and confidentiality

In an ideal situation, each reporting channel will have options for both confidentiality and anonymity, and these pathways should be clearly set out so employees know what process to follow.

It is also worth considering that what people understand by confidentiality and anonymity may not be consistent, so defining what the terms mean and giving examples of what they look like in reality are highly valuable.

It is also important for anyone making a report and those managing reports to be clear what both terms mean and the limitations of each option, for example when investigating a report.

Anonymous reporting procedures

Providing only non-anonymous reporting procedures is problematic. Two of the most common reasons people do not speak up are fear of retaliation and believing that the issue will get brushed under the carpet.

Where possible, provide anonymous report options for each reporting mechanism. Explain that anonymity means that nobody will know who the reporter is; they are unidentifiable, untraceable and unreachable. You could make it clear that reports are anonymous unless you choose to leave your name. Also, explain which person or group within the organisation sees or has access to the report.

If a person requests anonymity, you will need to consider whether the complaint can still be investigated to its full extent. Be transparent with complainants about the limitations of anonymity and its impact on the investigation process.

When creating an anonymous reporting mechanism, define and communicate what can be done with any anonymous information. It is also important to outline what cannot be done. This supports both reporters and those handling the information internally, and sets clear expectations of what a resolution or remedial action might be.

The challenge with anonymity is that action in direct response to an incident can be limited. However, anonymous reporting is important for informing action around organisational policies and culture more generally. As well as increasing confidence among your workers by showing that inappropriate behaviours will not be ignored, anonymous reporting allows you to look at specific incidents or the culture at large, and take proactive steps to eliminate unwanted conduct in the workplace. Anonymous reporting can highlight trends and a toxic workplace culture, and help an organisation to improve its anti-harassment policies.

Online forms and tools, suggestion boxes and reporting hotlines are great examples of how incidents could be reported anonymously. You might, for example, create an online incident reporting form that allows people to report incidents, and this could be available to document a range of toxic behaviours, not only harassment. You could provide a simple check-box system to include in key locations, eg kitchen, meeting room; reporter type, eg are you a witness or a victim; and type of incident, eg harassment, bullying or discrimination. Anonymous reporting platforms include those provided by HR Acuity and FaceUp, making the process of building online forms and solutions easier.

You could also display posters asking, "Are you a witness or victim of bullying, harassment or discrimination?" in key locations such as the staff kitchen and meeting rooms.

Confidential reporting procedures

With a confidential reporting procedure, the reporter identifies themselves, but they are not identified outside the remit of any investigation. The harassment policy and reporting procedure should outline what confidentiality entails, and this should be reinforced when someone makes a complaint, explaining to whom they will be identified.

Although you will want to maintain confidentiality, you still need to ensure that your investigation is comprehensive. Proper documentation and a well-organised process are essential to upholding both fairness and confidentiality, and access to information should be limited to those directly involved in the investigation. See here for further guidance on investigation processes.

Next: Building a working environment free from harassment and sexual harassment: Handling complaints effectively