Employment Equity

Handling Workplace Harassment Complaints

The Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace, 2022 sets out what's expected of employers when harassment — sexual, racial, or otherwise — is reported. Getting the response wrong (ignoring it, delaying, or mishandling confidentiality) can expose the business to EEA s 60 liability even where the harassing employee was acting entirely on their own.

Key facts

• The Code covers harassment on any of the EEA's listed grounds, and specifically addresses sexual harassment, including third-party harassment (by clients, customers or suppliers).
• Employers should have a written anti-harassment policy, a clear complaints procedure, and training — the Code treats the absence of these as a factor against the employer if a complaint later goes wrong.
• A complaint must be taken seriously and investigated promptly and confidentially — victimising or retaliating against a complainant is itself unlawful and undermines any defence to s 60 liability.
• Depending on severity, an outcome can range from a warning to dismissal for the harasser — treat it through your normal disciplinary process (see Running a Fair Disciplinary Process), applying the Code's guidance on what counts as harassment.
• The complainant can refer an unresolved harassment dispute to the CCMA regardless of what internal process was followed — an internal process doesn't remove the CCMA's jurisdiction.

The law that applies

• Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace, 2022 — issued under EEA s 54
• Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 — s 60

Practical steps

1. Adopt a written anti-harassment policy covering all EEA grounds, not sexual harassment alone.
2. Set up a clear, confidential reporting channel — ideally more than one person a complainant can approach.
3. Investigate every complaint promptly, even informal ones raised outside the formal channel.
4. Protect the complainant from retaliation throughout and after the process.
5. Run the outcome through your normal disciplinary process, with an appropriate sanction if harassment is found.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is legal information, not legal advice, and may not reflect amendments after its last review. For advice on your specific circumstances, consult a practising attorney or labour law specialist.