In AB v Grafters Ltd, an agency worker was told she was not rostered to work. A colleague offered to give her a lift home, then sexually harassed the worker in the car.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal did not agree with the employment tribunal’s conclusion that the harassment had not been ‘in the course of employment’ and sent this point back to be reconsidered.
The EAT gave helpful guidance: the words should be given a broad interpretation; an act of harassment may be done in the course of employment even if it was not done at the workplace or in working hours if there is a sufficient ‘nexus or connection with work’; and whether the act is done with the employer’s knowledge or approval ‘does not matter’.
Lessons for Employers • Anti-harassment policies and training must encompass any interactions between employees which have a ‘connection with work’.
• Work-related social occasions and social media messaging are caught by the extended concept of ‘in the course of employment’.