The Prohibition of Workplace Sexual Harassment in English Law

Abstract

This paper explores some of the legal remedies open to a claimant who has been a victim of gender-based sexual harassment. It begins with an examination of the legal meaning of ‘sexual harassment’. The principal law currently used by claimants, namely statutory sex discrimination, is then reviewed in depth. Other possible legal claims under statutory, common and criminal law are looked at next. The prospective statutory tort of sexual harassment derived from the European Community' Equal Treatment Amendment Directive is outlined. Measures to reduce employer liability are also considered. Despite the number of ways, in both civil law and criminal law, through which redress for sexual harassment may be claimed, in the absence of specific statutory law on sexual harassment English courts are essentially embarking on an exercise of trying to fit round pegs into square holes.