Report on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace in EU ... - UNECE

CHAPTER
4
Codes of Practice
4.1 Introduction
Ministries / Government Bodies and specialist bodies were required to provide information on
Codes of Practice dealing either implicitly or explicitly with Sexual Harassment / Harassment
based on Sex. For the purposes of this research a Code of Practice is 18 ‘‘a guide to provide
practical guidance to employers, employers’ organisations, trade unions and/or employees on
a specific issue. A Code of Practice does not necessarily impose any legal obligation in itself
nor is it necessarily an authoritative statement of the law. However, it does seek to promote
the development of and implementation of policies and procedures’’.
Eleven countries stated that such Codes were in place (Austria, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Malta,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and the UK). However, only eight
(Austria, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the UK) provided specific
details of the Codes of Practice that are in place. The German Ministry (Bundesministerium
fur Famile) provided a general remark on Codes of Practice stating that: companies, especially
larger ones, and officials have some plant agreements, service agreements and similar
instruments that deal with and are intended to prevent sexual harassment. These, to an extent,
regulate the handling of cases of sexual harassment by making the complaint procedure
concrete or by appointing contact persons. Overall this happens only in a small share of
workplaces.
Eleven countries stated that they did not have Codes of Practice in place.Two countries did
not respond to this question (Belgium and Portugal).
Of the eleven countries that stated they had Codes of Practice in place, four countries stated
that their Codes of Practice were legally binding (Austria, Italy, Lithuania and the Netherlands).
Codes in Ireland and the UK can be taken into account by tribunals. Three countries stated
their Codes were not legally binding (Finland, Luxembourg and Malta). Slovenia and Spain
did not specify whether the Codes were binding or not.
4.2 Codes of Practice dealing with Sexual Harassment / Harassment Based on Sex
The following section highlights the eight countries that provided details on their Codes of
Practice.
Austria:
The Austrian Ministry, (Bundesministerium fur soziale Sicherheit und Generationen), stated
that there are both voluntary company-internal agreements and voluntary company guidelines.
These Codes of Practice are prepared by and agreed between company and Works Council.
They are both legally binding. Generally, the legal definition of harassment is used in these
Codes.
18 Guidance Notes Questionnaire on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, January 2004 p2
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