Durban — The Department of Employment and Labour’s deputy director of employment equity, Masilo Lefika, said it was crucial that employers educate employees on their harassment policy.
Speaking at the Employment Equity Roadshow, he said this should be in education and training programmes and in their orientation.
“Make sure that your employees are fully aware of the contents of your harassment policies. Make sure that they are aware of the policy. Moreover, they are fully educated and informed on the contents thereof.
“It does not help to have a good policy which employees are not aware of,” Lefika said.
He advised employers to include issues of harassment in their programmes in an accessible format to make it easy for employees to understand and follow.
He said this should contain all procedures and processes to be followed when an employee reports harassment.
Since the beginning of the prevention and elimination of harassment in workplace roadshows, the Department of Employment and Labour has highlighted that harassment can be physical, verbal or psychological.
Niresh Singh, a deputy director in the department, explained the types of harassment.
He said: “Physical harassment includes physical attacks, simulated or threatened violence, or gestures such as raising a fist as if to strike a person, or throwing objects near a person.
“Verbal, on the other hand, may include threats, shaming, hostile teasing, insults, constant negative judgement and criticism, or racist, sexist, LGBTQIA+, or phobic language.
“In addition, Psychological harassment in the workplace may be associated with emotional abuse and involves behaviour that has serious negative psychological consequences for the complainant(s), such as is often the case with verbal abuse, bullying and mobbing.”
Daily News