Page 20 - PR Communication Age - JULY 2016
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tion to shared accommodation, referring to herself as a slut, teriorated during her employment. The matter was resolved
and dressing scantily in his presence. by conciliation with the employer and the manager paying
$15,000 to the complainant. The respondents also provided
Mr. Tuck argued that Ms. Shepherd's employment was ter written apologies for any offence the complainant may have
minated because of her inappropriate conduct while rep experienced.
resenting the company, her lack of capacity to do the tasks,
and inadequate workplace performance. Examples included 3. In Alaska, a man alleged sexual harassment against a
giving out company business cards to males in whom she male supervisor and his employer, a government authority.
was interested, making a serious error in a ship's manual It was also alleged that in the course of attempting to re
and instead of correcting it as asked, going to have a drink solve the complaint the complainant experienced difficul
with the ship's cook, refusing to do field work, putting per ties accessing the grievance mechanisms within the
sonal matters before business appointments, and driving organisation. At a conciliation conference, the allegations
the company car after drinking alcohol. On the issue of were discussed and misunderstandings were identified re
jokes, Mr. Tuck said Ms Shepherd joined in the general joke sulting in the complainant withdrawing his complaint
telling and humour of the office. against his supervisor. The complainant was able to detail
his experience to the respondents and an agreement was
Outcome: reached which included the employer reviewing the griev
ance and investigation procedures to include quick refer
Jury Member found that neither party was deliberately ence summaries and flow charts to assist access and imple
untruthful, and agreed in general on the facts. She found mentation of the mechanisms. It was also agreed by the
the main divergence was that Mr. Tuck indicated he never employer to increase training and awareness of appropri
intended offence, and Ms. Shepherd said she was offended. ate work place behaviour including detailed antidiscrimi
In terms of Mr. Tuck's desire to have a relationship with Ms. nation and sexual harassment grievance mechanisms. There
Shepherd, it was found that no reasonable person in her was no financial settlement sought. Even male employees
circumstances would have been offended by the proposal, are coming under this control in the Global sphere.
had it been made by the first respondent as alleged.
4. A woman lodged a complaint with the Commission in
In summing up, the Member said Ms. Shepherd and Mr. Tuck Canada alleging sexual harassment by her boss who was
had shared a very casual, and personal, working relationship. also her academic mentor. The woman alleged that the
The working environment was rough and tumbles, but the sexual harassment occurred over a period of two years. The
complainant was an equal participant in it. The Member alleged harasser was in a position of authority over her in
found that Ms. Shepherd failed to prove her case to the re that she was his student and he was her boss. She claimed
quired standard which happens in most of the cases. towards the end of the sexual harassment he 'stalked' her
by following her and waiting outside her house. The respon
Shepherd v T& T Marine Surveys Pty Ltd [2002] QADT (19 dents denied the allegations stating that the relationship
April 2002). was mutual and that there was no sexual harassment. In
conciliation the matter settled for the payment of $60,000
2. A woman alleged a manager sexually harassed her when for pain and suffering and the individual respondent pro
working for a club in California, over a period of several vided a written apology. One of the two respondents settled
years. The allegations included touching her breasts, leer the matter with the payment of $5,000. Both parties were
ing and that comments of a sexual nature were made about extremely pleased with the resolution of the matter.
her body. She stated she had complained to management
several times and that the complaints were ignored. She References: Different contemporary discussions & infor
also alleged that as a woman she had been denied promo
tions offered to less experienced males at the club. As a mation as collected & collated from various text materials
result, she resigned. The manager and the employer de available online & in hard copies.
nied the allegations, stating her attitude at work had de
"The fewer slides you need, the more convincing your idea."
20 PR COMMUNICATION AGE July 2016
