Hospitality workers play a key role in the experience of guests, from late night bars and busy restaurants to luxury hotels, they’re vital in providing great service to shape memorable customer experiences. But behind the scenes, the hospitality industry struggles with a pervasive cultural issue, sexual harassment.
According to a Unite survey in 2021, 47% of workers in the hospitality industry experienced sexual harassment, whilst a further 69% had witnessed it. Meanwhile, an older report from 2018, found that 9 in 10 people working in hospitality have experienced sexual harassment, regardless of their gender.
Whilst the statistics specifically linked to sexual harassment in the hospitality industry are few and far between, the reports and research that is available highlights the frequency of sexual harassment, that the behaviour is normalised and considered ‘part of the role’ and therefore not reported.
An overview of the hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is the third largest employer, employing around 3.5 million people, making it a key economic sector in the UK. The workforce consists predominantly of female and young workers.
- 60% of the hospitality industry workforce are female, yet only 1 in 3 hospitality leaders are female
- 10% of the workforce are aged 16-24, rising to much higher levels in specific roles
- 50% of waitresses and waiters are under 25 and
- 48% of bar staff are under 25.
Sexual harassment is more likely to occur because of a power imbalance between male and females, youth and age which is exacerbated by the large percentage of young workers and female workers in the sector who are all more vulnerable to experiencing sexual harassment.
Factors that contribute to high levels of sexual harassment in the hospitality industry
Deeply embedded, industry wide culture norms
Along with high levels of young workers and female employees, the late-night nature of the industry which often involves alcohol, coupled with the general consensus that the ‘customer is king’, creates a breeding ground for sexual harassment and an industry wide culture that normalises this behaviour.
Because customer experience is often prioritised, customers are placed in a position of power where their behaviour can often be overlooked, creating a culture of tolerance where employees feel more pressure to put up with harassment from customers.
One piece of research even found that managers perceived the same sexually harassing behaviour as less negative, when it was done by a customer rather than employee.*
Low wage, low skill, atypical workers
The hospitality industry workforce consists of large levels of low wage workers and are often the youngest workers in our society. They are also more likely to be ‘a-typical’ workers on a fixed term or zero hours contract, and therefore don’t have the same rights as permanent employees. Some employers perhaps consider them to be more ‘dispensable’ and aren’t treated in the same way as more permanent employees, which creates a disparity between managers and those in more junior positions who are more financially dependent on keeping a job.
Therefore, they may not make a report so they don’t disrupt the status quo, cause trouble or draw attention to themselves. When concerns are raised or complaints made, their reports are not taken seriously or dismissed as trivial. For some of these workers it may be their first experience of the workplace, so it’s also possible they don’t fully understand their employment rights either.
There are some eye-opening statistics that found 43% of a-typical workers experienced sexual harassment at work in comparison to 29% on a standard employment contract.
The industry struggles with high levels of employee turnover which also suggests that workers are less invested or willing to put up a fight to improve their workplace and instead move on to another job in the hope that the conditions are better.
Power dynamics and vulnerable groups
Sexual harassment disproportionately affects women, with 40% of women experiencing some kind of sexual harassment, in comparison to 18% of men. High levels of sexual harassment in this sector are linked to hierarchy, where vulnerabilities and differences in power are the greatest. Women tend to occupy more junior roles, whilst men are in a position of power, older workers tend to be in more senior positions, whilst younger workers fill entry level positions.
A 2017 BBC Radio 5 Live survey found that 30% of women, compared to 12% of men, were sexually harassed by their manager or a senior manager.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) research found that most sexual harassment of women workers was perpetrated by a male colleague, with 1 in 5 cases by their manager or someone with authority over them.
Managers control the schedules of workers, making it difficult for vulnerable workers to avoid the perpetrators or to report wrongdoing.
It’s important to point out that whilst women and young people are more vulnerable to experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace, it does still happen to men. Around 7% of men also experience sexual harassment in the workplace, but only 2% of them report it and are less likely to make a report than women.
Case Study
A recent case where a male head chef was awarded £79k at tribunal for being sexually harassed by male hotel manager highlights sexual harassment can happen to anyone and the types of behaviour that are unacceptable. The hotel manager frequently made inappropriate comments of sexual nature, sexual references to food, including faking an orgasm, plus dramatised dry humping. There was also unwanted touching from the hotel manager, including touching his legs, bum and nipples.
The head chef resigned, saying he felt like he had no choice for continuously being treated unacceptably, he also made reports to the police, but with no charges.
Low level of reporting
Most occurrences of sexual harassment in this industry are not reported for a combination of reasons. They may have concerns over job security and the impact making a report has on their ability to get work, because they’re often the lowest paid workers, they are the most financially insecure and therefore don’t want the negative consequences of making a report.
As explored above, often it’s the manager or someone in a position of authority who is sexually harassing them and so they feel they have no one to report it to. There is very rarely a way for people to report incidents of sexual harassment beyond the line manager reporting route in hospitality.
The culture accepted across the industry can also lead to people not making reports because they accept the behaviour as normal, that their complaint will be trivialised and that nothing will be done or change by making a report.
Poor outcomes and negative consequences when sexual harassment is reported
When people do come forward to make a report, they are faced with negative consequences such as having their hours reduced, being ostracised or even losing their job. The Government Equalities Office survey found that 40% of those who took some sort of action reported that their job changed in some way because of them speaking out.
The GEO survey also noted that for 41% of those who faced sexual harassment in the workplace, there were no consequences for their perpetrator, dropping to 19% for those who formally reported workplace sexual harassment
Only small proportions who complained formally reported the perpetrator facing formal disciplinary actions – 10% informal warnings, 5% formal warnings, 6% fired or asked to leave.
When there are negative consequences or poor outcomes when speaking up, it makes it more difficult to make a report in the future.
Impact of the Worker Protection Act on the hospitality industry
The Workers Protect Act came into force on 26 October 2024 and places a new onus on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from taking place in the workplace, rather than having a duty to respond to it.
The new legislation marks a significant change for hospitality employers, shifting the obligation onto employers to prevent and challenge inappropriate conduct at work.
The consequences of not taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment could be costly – employment tribunals now have the power to increase compensation awards in cases of sexual harassment at work by up to 25% if employers fail to meet their obligations.
Case Study
In the recent case of Almussawi v Moussa, Ms Almussawi, a 21 year old waitress was sexually harassed by her boss, Mr Moussa and dismissed less than a month after starting employment. Mr Moussa would frequently take her into his office and adjust her uniform, requiring her to unbutton her top to allow him to fit the staff radio on for her shift; he did not do this for any other employee. He would ask to give her a lift home at the end of the shift and give her extra tips at the end of her shift, again, not doing the same for other employees. The judgement also said that without any explanation to ending her employment, suggested she was dismissed because she refused his sexual advancements.
Ms Almussawi was awarded £43k at tribunal in August 2024, which serves as a good example to employers that under the new WPA legislation, this could now be subject to a 25% uplift, increasing the fine to over £48k.
It could also trigger enforcement action from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. An employee can raise a concern with the Equality and Human Rights Commission without an incident of sexual harassment occurring, if they have evidence that their employer is not taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the workplace.
Framework to address sexual harassment in hospitality industry
It’s going to take a multi-faceted approach to address sexual harassment in the hospitality industry. Employers will need to carefully consider what steps they need to take to prevent sexual harassment and implement measures to comply with the new WPA legislation as soon as they can.
We’ve outlined some key steps for hospitality employers to take, to not only help them comply with the new WPA legislation but to drive long term cultural change across the industry.
Robust reporting mechanisms to reduce barriers to reporting
Employees need a robust reporting mechanism to report incidents of sexual harassment as an alternative to the line manager reporting route. Workers currently don’t know how to make a report or who to, and as the research shows above, often it’s the manager or someone more senior than them who is sexually harassing them and therefore employees do not report incidents.
A workplace reporting platform such as the platform used by Culture Shift’s partner organisations allows employees to make a report with their name and contact details or an anonymous report, which can then be dealt with by the most appropriate person in the business. Anonymous reporting can help build trust between management teams and employees – it’s an easy way for employees to make reports without their name being attached to a report, breaking down barriers to reporting that employees face when they experience sexual harassment whilst giving leaders a clearer picture as to the scale and nature of the problem.
Action
The only way to build long term cultural change is to actively respond to complaints of sexual harassment. Hospitality bosses should take reports seriously and follow best practice when it comes to investigation claims and follow through with the appropriate action such as disciplinaries or dismissals.
In some cases, it may be more appropriate for an external organisation to conduct the investigation.
When employees see employers acting to prevent sexual harassment and setting the tone from the top, only then do trust levels begin to improve, making people more comfortable to speak up when they see or experience unwanted behaviour.
Support
Sexual harassment is happening to young, vulnerable individuals, often experiencing the workplace for the first time which can have long lasting consequences from low confidence levels to serious mental health problems. Not only do reports need to be taken seriously, but employers should also offer ongoing support, signposting to resources and guidance, through to providing employee assistance programmes where employees can get confidential advice.
Best practice
Many hospitality businesses lack clear and accessible workplace policies on the prevention of sexual harassment and this needs to change.
Sexual harassment policies should be standalone, not wrapped up with other forms of discrimination, harassment and bullying policies. Often employees are unaware of the policies and procedures in their organisation and therefore don’t know how to report sexual harassment. These should be made accessible to all workers and details provided during the induction of new staff. During induction, employees should be made aware of what is acceptable and unacceptable workplace behaviour, highlighting what behaviours constitute sexual harassment, whilst also being made aware of their employer’s policies surrounding sexual harassment and exactly how they can report it should they experience it.
It would be great practice for policies on sexual harassment to be displayed in kitchens, behind the bar and in break rooms, so that employees can read it and be reminded of it regularly. This also shows an employers commitment to taking sexual harassment at work seriously, and will encourage employees to speak up about experiences of sexual harassment more.
Hospitality venues should also consider how they minimise the risk of employees experiencing sexual harassment from customers. It is good practice for a hospitality venue to have a policy on acceptable and unacceptable customer behaviour, ensuring that customers who do not adhere to these behaviour standards are removed from the premises.
You may want to consider installing panic alarms in relevant locations where you judge the risk of sexual harassment is high, or installing lights in dark locations where employees may be working alone. A good example of this is where employees may dispose of waste in dark alleyways at the back of hospitality venues, or doors where employees may lock up the venue alone.
Training
Your whole workforce should undertake sexual harassment training, so that everyone is clear what sexual harassment is, what they can do to prevent it and what to do when they see or experience it. Whilst business owners and senior leaders may be aware of the new Worker Protection Act, are your middle managers aware of it and understand the consequences for your business of not complying?
Training should not be a one-off delivered at the start of employment- it should be delivered at regular intervals throughout employment, to consolidate key messages and illustrate a commitment to preventing sexual harassment at work.
What do you need to do?
Implementing an anonymous workplace reporting platform is an effective first step to improving your reporting mechanisms, supporting hospitality workers to speak up when they experience sexual harassment.
Culture Shift’s full suite reporting software and resolution system empowers organisations to tackle unwanted behaviour and improve culture. At Culture Shift, we can offer tailored solutions to help you understand where your organisation stands in its compliance journey and equip you with the tools you need to succeed. Discover how here.
Sources
*Sexual harassment experimental study – employer vs third party
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2017-0081/full/html?skipTracking=true
https://shura.shu.ac.uk/33597/1/SHReporFINAL3compressed.pdf
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/prettiest-eyes-tribunal-sexual-harassment-almussawi-v-moussa/
