Manager who harassed female colleague investigated his own wrongdoing

What could be worse than a male line manager asking a younger female colleague about whether she was pregnant? How about that manager asking the employee if she wanted help getting pregnant and then being involved in the investigation into his own conduct after the employee raised a complaint!

This is precisely what happened when a medic at Event Medical Group was twice asked by her manager if she was pregnant and twice asked if she wanted a hand with getting pregnant.

The employee followed up the conversation with her line manager in an email saying the comments were offensive and possible sexual harassment. The employee also said that she was resigning with immediate effect.

The company manager then convened a panel to investigate the allegations. An investigation meeting was postponed by the employee as she needed external guidance first. Then four weeks later the company manager wrote to the employee saying that as she had failed to put forward an alternative date the matter was deemed closed.

In the meantime, the company manager had sent the draft investigation report to the line manager and commented that he had ensured that he had highlighted that the employee was “wrong and malicious.” The line manager responded by saying the report might need a few changes and that the company manager “should bring your laptop.”

The company manager then sent the report to the investigation panel saying that the employee’s comments were unfounded. The investigation panel subsequently concluded that the comment “are you pregnant” was “made without causing harm or offence.”

The employee was not informed of the investigation report nor the findings of the investigation panel.

The tribunal found that the aim of management at Event Medical Group had been to pressure the employee to withdraw her complaint or at least to disengage from the process instead of genuinely investigating and learning from the incident. It found that the conduct of the management was related to sex and the tone of their messages inferred that the employee was “a silly young woman who needed to be put in her place.”

The tribunal found that the line manager had been involved in the investigation into his own conduct from the outset. He was monitoring the situation and approving emails drafted by the company manager before they were sent out. The investigation report was even found to have been sent to the line manager for his approval. The investigation had not set out to establish the facts, consider what had happened or identify future training needs.

Employer learning from the case

This case highlights the following requirements to employers:

• Conduct full, fair and detailed investigations into all allegations of harassment.

• Provide regular training to line managers on investigation and disciplinary procedures.

• Ensure an alleged perpetrator of harassment is not involved in their own investigation nor be able to steer / influence the outcome of an investigation.

Remember any line manager found to have made the comments such as those made by the manager in this case will inevitably lead to a finding of direct sex discrimination and harassment at tribunal.