Sexual harassment policy, Kindred Lane Stores
Sexual harassment policy template built around the positive duty
A sexual harassment policy in Australia now has to show what the business is doing to prevent harassment, not only how it handles complaints, because employers carry a positive duty to eliminate it as far as possible. This five page policy for a 24 store retail chain sets out the definitions, the preventive measures with owners, five reporting options and a fair investigation.
The document, page by page
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Section by section
What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.
- Cover
- Contract cover with the retailer, title, purpose line and date.
- 1 to 3. Scope, definitions and bystanders
- Who is covered, four defined terms with retail examples, and what bystanders should do.
- 4. Our positive duty
- Section 47C and six measures with owners.
- 5. Reporting options
- Five ways to raise it, from talking it through to outside bodies, and the danger callout.
- 6. When someone tells a manager
- Five things a manager does on the same shift.
- 7. Investigation
- Six steps from written acknowledgement to follow up at 12 weeks.
- 8 to 10. Confidentiality, consequences and support
- Who sees what, outcomes for staff and customers, and counselling.
- 11 and 12. Records and review
- The report register and the yearly review with staff.
How to adapt this document
First, redo the measures table from your own risk assessment; a hospitality venue would add late night transport and guest intoxication, an office would add work travel and after work drinks. Second, if you have no People team, name an external HR adviser or investigator for formal complaints so no complaint is investigated by someone close to it. Third, keep the customer provisions even if you deal mostly with businesses, renaming them for clients and contractors who visit or call your staff.
Which law the terms follow
The definitions and the positive duty come from the Sex Discrimination Act 1984: sexual harassment in section 28A, harassment on the ground of sex, hostile work environments, and the duty in section 47C. The Fair Work Act 2009 separately prohibits sexual harassment in connection with work and gives the Fair Work Commission power to deal with disputes. Work health and safety laws treat sexual harassment as a risk to health and safety, with guidance from Safe Work Australia.
What makes this document work
The positive duty is a table of measures
Clause 4 quotes the duty in section 47C, then lists six measures with owners: quarterly board review, yearly store risk assessments, two staff on every shift after 6 pm, the right to refuse service and ban customers, three kinds of training, and an anonymous survey. Prevention a regulator can check.
Customers are covered, not just colleagues
Scope names customers, suppliers and delivery drivers, the table's first example is a customer commenting on a worker's body, and the measures let staff refuse service. In retail much harassment comes from the public, and a policy limited to co workers leaves the main risk out.
Managers get a same shift checklist
Clause 6 tells a manager what to do on the shift they are told: make the person safe, listen and believe the report is made in good faith, explain the options, write down what was said in the person's words, and tell the People team within 1 business day, even if nothing is requested.
Questions people ask
What is the positive duty?
Since December 2022, section 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 requires employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate, as far as possible, sexual harassment, sex based harassment, hostile work environments and victimisation. It applies whether or not anyone complains, and the Australian Human Rights Commission can enforce it.
What is a hostile work environment?
A workplace that is offensive, intimidating or humiliating to a person because of their sex, even if no one is targeted directly. Explicit images on a stockroom wall or constant sexual jokes in a store group chat are the policy's examples. It became unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Act in 2022.
Can a worker go to the Fair Work Commission about sexual harassment?
Yes. The Fair Work Act prohibits sexual harassment in connection with work, and a worker can apply to the Commission to deal with a dispute, including for an order to stop it. They can also complain to the Australian Human Rights Commission. The policy lists both as options outside the business.
Should a policy cover harassment by customers?
Yes. The positive duty extends to conduct by third parties such as customers and clients, so far as the employer can control the risk. That is why this policy lets staff refuse service, bans repeat offenders, rosters two people late at night, and tells customers' employers when harassment comes from a supplier or driver.
Can a complaint be settled with a confidentiality agreement?
This policy says no one will be asked to sign one as a condition of resolving a complaint. Non disclosure terms can silence victims and hide patterns, which undermines the positive duty. Some people want confidentiality for themselves, and it can be offered at their request, but never required.
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