Self-evidently, each of us as individuals is morally and ethically responsible for our behaviour, including at work.

Bluntly, if I harass someone, it is my wrongdoing. All good employment contracts and policies will prohibit harassment, whether directly or by implication.

Sexual harassment law:

And, though the UK employment tribunals otherwise deal almost exclusively in claims against employers, the law does allow tribunal claims to be made directly against individuals in respect of their harassment of colleagues in the course of employment.

So what responsibility does an organisation bear to prevent harassment of its people?

Many of us would agree that employers hold ethnical duties to ensure a working environment in which all of their people are safe and free from harassment.

Indeed, it is well established that employers are legally responsible for harassment committed by their employees in the course of their employment – which goes far beyond just when they are sitting at their desks.

Employers can avoid legal liability only if they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent harassment and this is a high hurdle.

This, of course, falls short of an express duty to prevent harassment – it is more carrot than stick – though this looks set to change by way of new proposed legislation currently making its way through Parliament.

What about the HR director, chief people officer or equivalent? A judge in Delaware recently held that shareholders could directly sue an...

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