Resolved complaint (273) about sexual harassment and victimisation in employment

About the complaint

The complainant worked as a shop assistant with the respondent retailer. She alleged the store’s lead supervisor sexually harassed her, including by standing too close to her, asking her to go out with and sleep with him, touching her back and bottom and taking steps to ensure they were rostered to work together. The complainant said other staff, including supervisors, witnessed this behaviour and took no action. The complainant claimed she raised concerns about this behaviour with other supervisors but no action was taken. She said she made a formal complaint and the retailer terminated the employment of her supervisor following an investigation. She said the investigation took a long time and she was not given information about its progress. She alleged that after making the complaint, other store supervisors treated her less favourably at work and demonstrated no interest in her wellbeing. She said she felt she had no option but to resign.

The retailer confirmed that it terminated the supervisor’s employment due to misconduct following an investigation which found the complainant’s allegations of sexual harassment were substantiated. The retailer said it could not verify that the complainant had raised concerns with other supervisors before making a formal complaint. The retailer said it took significant steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, including delivery of training to staff and development of relevant policies and procedures. The retailer said it offered the complainant support to help her deal with the impact of her experience.

The complaint was resolved by conciliation with an agreement that the retailer pay the complainant $40,000 as general damages. The parties agreed that the complainant would not refer to the names of her supervisor or retailer when discussing her experiences, with some exceptions.

Guidance on the use of these summaries

This is a summary of a selected complaint that has been resolved through our conciliation process. It's designed to help people better understand how complaints might be resolved and what outcomes are possible.

These summaries are for general guidance only and are not legal advice. If you need advice about your situation, you should seek independent legal support.

Please note:

• all complaints are de-identified
• complaints are resolved on a 'without admission of liability' basis
• some content may include confronting or offensive language.