Marvin OnumonuLidl GB has signed a legal agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to help stop sexual harassment at work.
This follows an employment tribunal, which found Lidl GB did not do enough to prevent a young female staff member being sexually harassed by another employee between 2019 and 2021.
The tribunal found Lidl GB managers at the store did not know about the company’s anti-harassment policy.
The company had not carried out risk assessments, and relied on staff to make complaints before taking action.
Under the Equality Act 2010, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work.
The tribunal ruled Lidl GB had not done so in this case.
Since the tribunal, a new law called the Worker Protection Act has come in.
This means employers can be held responsible for not doing enough to prevent sexual harassment, even if there are no reported incidents.
Lidl GB made some changes after the tribunal, including extra training for managers and new bullying and harassment sessions for staff.
The company has also carried out a sexual harassment risk assessment with advice from the EHRC.
By signing the agreement, Lidl GB has agreed to run a staff survey about sexual harassment at work and check if more action is needed.
The company will set up a system to track informal complaints and look for any ongoing risks.
Complaint handling will be monitored for any new formal complaints.
Additionally, Lidl GB will review some past complaints from 2023 and 2024 to spot any trends or problems.
Meetings will be held with its diversity, equality and inclusion groups to talk about risks and extra steps that could be taken.
The company said it will keep reviewing its risk assessment, policies and training.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the EHRC, said: “Every employer has a legal duty to prevent sexual harassment and they must be able to prove they’ve taken reasonable steps to do so.
“We welcome the improvements Lidl GB has already made since an employment tribunal ruled against them, and their willingness to take the further steps we have recommended.
“By signing this legal agreement, Lidl GB has committed to carrying out this work based on our expert advice.”
Falkner added: “Sexual harassment is never acceptable in the workplace.
“All employers should take note of what the law requires of them under the preventative duty.
“We will continue to use our unique powers as Britain’s equality regulator to ensure everyone can work without fear of sexual harassment.”
A spokesperson from Lidl GB said: “No person should be subject to harassment in the workplace, so providing our colleagues with a safe and respectful environment is an absolute priority for us.
“That’s why we have robust policies and procedures in place which we’ve taken steps to further strengthen over the past few years.
“We continually look for opportunities to drive improvements to our processes and ways of working and, therefore, value the opportunity to work voluntarily with the EHRC, to see where we could define actions that will further support our values and colleague experience.”
