How Should We Handle Harassment Complaints Against a High-Performing Team Leader?

Hi Folks, we have a very small but high-performing team that works the night shift where some of the employees are female. A couple of the females have recently complained in writing that one of the newly promoted Team Leaders is harassing them—blocking their passage, staring at their bodies while speaking to them, and always intruding into their space.

Handling Workplace Harassment

Can any of you suggest ways of handling such issues? Local Management is fearful of losing a high-performing asset, but our global management has suggested counseling and then taking action. I am stuck in a quandary.

Regards,

Hi Alex, I have gone through your concern, and I feel very ashamed that we are still tolerating such misbehavior towards our female employees. Come on, yaaar! We are in the 21st century where women also have the same rights as men. Why can't you convene a meeting along with some senior persons to address this issue and try to make him understand that what he is doing is wrong? In fact, it’s not just a matter of right or wrong, but it’s a question of women’s prestige. Even after that, if you do not see any changes in that person, simply kick him out of the company. Keeping that person in the company will only make the atmosphere so toxic that none of the employees would want to work there, which will impact the reputation of your company. I know that you will make a wise decision to dismiss that employee rather than tarnishing the company’s name.

I am sure that there is no scarcity of talent in India!

Dear Alex,

First and foremost, stop using the word 'female.' This type of description is fit only for biological or veterinary subjects and not general subjects.

A couple of women staff have complained in writing, and you or your management just sit on it? Don't you think that you are sitting on a tinderbox? By chance, if this box explodes in the future, what will be the standing of your management?

Imagine some woman staff musters the courage and complains against the team leader to the police; your management will also come under fire for not protecting the women staff. This is because they will be going against the directions given by the Supreme Court in the famous "Vishakha" case of 1996.

Why are you looking at the performance of that person? The incumbent CEO of iGate was an earlier employee of Infosys. When he was in the USA, he was charged with sexual harassment. In the inquiry, it was revealed he was guilty of misconduct. Infosys told him to put in his papers. Please remember that he was holding a far senior position at that time!

When it comes to the usage of jargon like employee engagement, talent management, and so on, HR folks are most vociferous. But when it comes to taking actual action, they develop cold feet. This very inaction of HR does not give them parity with other functions.

Take it as a challenge to search for his better replacement and throw this person out. In fact, you should not have raised this question in this forum on what to do. Why could you not exercise your discretion?

My reply is a little testy, but then the situation merits this type of reply only.

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Understanding Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Standing in the passage or corridor in such a way as to block the way of a female and staring at the body of a female while speaking to her are considered sexual harassment as defined by the Apex Court in Vishaka's case. Upon receiving a complaint, prompt action should be taken without any delay. Failure to address the issue promptly could lead to severe consequences, as every employer who hires women is expected to have a committee dedicated exclusively to handling cases related to sexual harassment.

Furthermore, if you are employing women during the night, it is crucial to ensure they are treated respectfully. The same labor department or government authority that granted permission to employ women between 7 pm to 6 am can revoke that permission if women are not treated appropriately.

There is no harm in suspending a male employee pending an investigation, regardless of his performance. As noted by Sandhya, there is a sufficient pool of skilled manpower available.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Dinesh Divekar, Madhu, TK, and Sandhya have all given you sound advice. I have just checked the case referred to as Visakha at India Together: Starting the battle against sexual harassment, from Volume 4, Issue 1, of Combat Law. You better get to grips with it by constituting a committee to investigate the complaints and follow Madhu's advice as he is a lawyer.

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan
A retired academic in the UK

Since many senior and experienced members have already provided their valuable suggestions here, I would not add anything to suggest the solution. But for the future, make sure your sexual harassment policy is designed in a manner that such behavior, whether by a senior or junior, is not discussed—just action is taken against such people. If you are still calling that person an asset, it's a failure of the company. Anyone who cannot adhere to the rules and regulations, cannot adhere to the code of conduct, can never be an asset no matter what performance he/she shows. Call for a meeting and resolve the issue as soon as possible. Do let us know what the decision is.

Regards,
Archna

Dear all,

It was a general complaint that sexual harassment is taking place in most of the establishments where female employees are employed. Nowadays, the frequency has been reduced to a certain extent. It is one of the principal obligations of every employer who engages female staff in their establishment to ensure that there is no room for such issues. Unfortunately, in most cases, this is not being carried out effectively.

Suggestions for Addressing Sexual Harassment

Therefore, I suggest the following:

1. If the establishment falls under the jurisdiction of the Industrial Establishment Standing Orders, there should be normal notified working hours. The working hours for female employees should be specified, and both employees and employers should adhere to these regulations. Any violations in timing should be reported to the Appropriate Authorities for necessary action. Additionally, any Registered Trade Unions operating there or the Works Committee formed under the I.D Act, or any Welfare Officer engaged for that establishment, should also be consulted to guide the employer in the right direction and advise female employees on managing and handling such situations.

2. Any complaints regarding such harassment should be first reported to the management by the affected person. A written complaint should also be forwarded "per favor of the Management" to the Police Authorities against the culprit by the affected party. Based on the written complaint received, the management is also required to inform the Police, the appropriate higher authorities of the Establishment, and initiate necessary disciplinary action against the culprit as per the relevant provisions of Disciplinary Proceedings/Labour Laws, whichever is applicable.

3. If the management does not cooperate properly in addressing this issue to protect the interests of the affected worker or the establishment, please inform the concerned management that they could be held liable for CONTEMPT OF COURT as per the Supreme Court's verdict in Vishaka's case if the affected party directly approaches any Court of Law.

Regards,

Jagdish K. Kochi

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Instead of making any hasty decisions, you must first ensure your record is complete with strong evidence so that any management action may not be challenged later by anyone. First, try to obtain independent evidence by assigning a trusted person to special night shift duty for 2-3 days to observe the behavior of the team leader. Subsequently, delegate a very senior and impartial person to personally document statements from both the team leader and the accusers independently. If guilt is established, instead of requesting resignation, take action to dismiss him by formally charging him. Merely asking for resignation would not serve as a lesson for such misconduct.

Regards

Start a domestic inquiry. You will know what actually happened. The victimizer will panic once the inquiry starts and may mend his ways. Once a complaint is received in writing, you have no choice but to act on it. Remember, employees whose grievances are not resolved have external agencies to approach. The ramifications would be more severe then. Imagine the bad publicity your organization must be receiving by word of mouth already.

Remember, the main reason for the existence of 'HR personnel' is HR itself. HR needs to be looked after.

All the best.

Discipline and Verification

Discipline is paramount. Fair verification of facts and related action, if allegations are found to be true, is a must to strengthen the organization's affirmation on discipline.

Best regards,
Rajeev

Senior members have already informed you of what needs to be done. You should review and take the necessary actions promptly. This is a serious issue, and failing to act promptly or delaying action could result in a violation of rules, potentially jeopardizing the company's reputation and leading to legal repercussions.

Upholding Standards for All Employees

It is essential to uphold the same standards for everyone, regardless of their position in the company—whether they are in top management, middle management, high performers, or low performers. Sexual harassment, in any form, must not be tolerated.

[White Eagle](http://kuldeeprathore.blogspot.com/)

Based on the facts, with the support of your top management, allow the employee who submitted her complaint to make the final decision only if the allegations against your team leader are genuine. False allegations can also be proven genuine. Don't be among those who create a big issue out of nothing.

With profound regards

Dear Alex, please call the man immediately, give him a warning, and take a written statement to ensure he does not repeat the offense. Additionally, contact the woman to clarify the issue and conduct an investigation into the matter.

Kindly take prompt action on the complaint as it is the employer's duty to protect female staff by law.

Also, investigate whether the woman is telling the truth or if she has lied in her statement.

Thank you.

Some points to add to the earlier suggestions:

- Do not disclose the names of the employees who have complained unless necessary. You could have a bigger problem on your hands.
- Speak personally to the complainants (if not done already) to understand the exact nature of the problem. They may not have written everything.
- Start an inquiry (official or unofficial) to figure out if there is a problem. However, the fact that two of them gave written complaints indicates it's genuine. If you are conducting an unofficial inquiry, ensure your questions to others are in vague terms. Do not name the victims or the alleged perpetrator. Try to find out as if you are performing normal work and see if anyone has noted similar behavior.
- Regardless of your findings, have a counseling session with the team leader, in the presence of a senior, mature member of the management. It could be that he has not realized that his behavior is offensive. Maybe it's his way of working with male employees also. But either way, it has to stop.
- If counseling can resolve this, then have the senior management speak to the complainants and explain the action taken, and request them to withdraw the complaint upon satisfactory resolution.

Remember, your company is a subsidiary of a global organization. The repercussions will be wider if you fail to take appropriate action. The employee can actually file a complaint with the parent company or with authorities abroad, leading to huge settlement costs.

Many such companies have strict rules against sexual harassment and violations of equal opportunity employer norms. I know of a case where the HR and ops head were asked to leave for not taking action on a complaint.

Also, note that your parent company has already asked you to counsel and then remove the team leader. You have no choice unless your country head decides to defy them.

You may refer to the Visakha judgment and implement the guidelines. You need to constitute a committee, I suppose, which will look into complaints of sexual harassment. You may also organize training programs on gender sensitization. The judgment may be seen on the following link: Vishakha Judgment <link updated to site home> (Search On Cite | Search On Google)

Let there be an open warning that will prevent others and send a message about the organization's approach to such issues. Immediately remove him from the shift and ask if it is necessary for him to go on leave. Also, there is a need to analyze the percentage of accuracy and the actual issue in this matter.

Regards.

Before making any decision, you must consider both sides and their perspectives. I would not always agree with what a woman says. It could even be due to personal animosity that they are behaving this way. If you have not installed CCTV with audio in your office, please do so. CCTV is not intended to invade privacy, as the office is not a private space. Monitoring through CCTV provides comfort and security. It will always be useful for reviewing past events during playback sessions.

Make decisions based on who would be good or bad without hesitation, even if it means losing a good employee in work performance but not in ethical standards.

Regards,
Vasu

Hi Vasu, Alex, in his query, mentioned that management had received complaints from a couple of female employees accusing someone of engaging in such activities. Therefore, management must investigate and take necessary action. If sexual harassment (SH) is proven, strict action must be taken. Sexual harassment is not just a normal disciplinary issue; it is a legal and social crime, so there must be real consequences.

While installing CCTV cameras is a good idea, it may not be feasible to have them everywhere, as the accused can still engage in inappropriate behavior outside the office premises.

[White Eagle](http://kuldeeprathore.blogspot.com/)

Please lodge an F.I.R. against the recently promoted team leader, and your management should also be held accountable for neglecting the written complaints of female workers regarding sexual harassment. This action should be taken immediately.

Please don't conclude or rush without evaluating the situation. Even the court doesn't follow the same procedure. How sure are you that the given complaint is 101% genuine? Kindly, don't compel anybody to take biased decisions (forged). You are making people react rather than respond.

With profound regards,

Can someone please share their sexual harassment policy as applicable in India? I am in the process of developing the same for our organization.

Thanks,
Varshita

Handling Harassment Allegations Against a Team Leader

Please suspend the team leader pending investigation and complete the inquiry within 48 hours. Record statements of all witnesses in writing and verify his character from his previous companies. If this behavior is habitual, he may have acted similarly in the past.

If more than one female employee has reported against the team leader, it is a major cause for concern.

Give the delinquent team leader a sternly worded warning in writing as a final opportunity to improve.

Place him under regular scrutiny and monitor his behavior closely. If there are even the slightest signs of recurrence, terminate his services promptly to protect your team and the company. Failure to do so could result in serious consequences.

Alternatively, terminate his employment immediately.

As an HR Head in my career, I have employed a similar strategy.

Warm Regards,
Bharat Gera
HR Consultant

The importance of discipline over performance

First, let us be clear that discipline comes before performance in a workplace. By not taking action against a high performer, you may lose the trust of many good performers whose morale decreases.

Handling complaints of harassment

In all PSUs, there is a Committee Against Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, which receives complaints from affected employees and investigates them, including interviewing other colleagues. Once the Committee is convinced of the harassment, the culprit is issued a caution letter and transferred because keeping them in the same place would be uncomfortable for both the culprit and the harassed individual. This way, you can ensure no drop in performance.

Role of the Committee as a deterrent

The existence of a Committee to address such grievances acts as a warning and deterrent to those who may be susceptible to their basic instincts. A circular about the Committee's existence should be issued to all branches/units and prominently displayed. Visiting/inspecting officials should ensure such a display.

Conducting HR audits

It is also beneficial to have an HR Audit conducted by officials from the Head Office/Controlling Office at least once a year.