The law of harassment in the UK: a growing concern

Howes, VS

Abstract

This article considers recent changes to legal provisions governing harassment at work, in particular sexual harassment, in the UK, in the light of EU Directive 2002/73/EC, and the remedies available in the courts and employment tribunals. This article then provides a statistical profile of a total of 21,335 sex discrimination cases brought to nine employment tribunals in the UK between 2003 and 2008, highlighting the fact that the claims submitted by employees are successful in only a small percentage of cases, due to the fact that many cases are withdrawn or settled out of court, and the fact that many claimants do not have legal representation, whereas nearly all of the defendants have the benefit of legal representation in hearings at the employment tribunal, enabling them to present their evidence in a more effective manner. This is particularly important in cases of this type, where witness credibility is crucial to successful outcomes, as highlighted by the cases cited by the author.

Citation

Howes, V. The law of harassment in the UK: a growing concern. International Journal of Comparative Labour Law, 25(2), 191-205

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Deposit Date: May 6, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Journal: The International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations
• Print ISSN: 0952-617X
• Publisher: Kluwer Law International
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 191-205
• Related Public URLs: http://www.kluwerlawonline.com/toc.php?area=Journals&mode=bypub&level=6&values=Journals~~International+Journal+of+Comparative+Labour+Law+and+Industrial+Relations~Volume+25+%282009%29~Issue+2