Category: sexual harassment awareness

“if you get your t**s out I will buy drink”

Mrs C Hotham and Miss S Penman v Acre Rigg Social Club Ltd

“if you get your t**s out I will buy drink” – This Tribunal case illustrates why small employers need to do more to prevent sexual harassment at work.

The defendant’s, 60 year old, manager said “no you’re on the sick” – “if you get your t**s out I will buy drink”. In Mrs C Hotham and Miss S Penman v Acre Rigg Social Club the tribunal found the employers comment to have been “made in front of others” and that it “ it was crass, offensive and sexually explicit”

This was not an isolated one-off comment, but one that what appears to have been part of what could be a systemic failure by a small employer to prevent the bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at work of its employees.

Over 4 years or stress and worry for all involved, close to £60,000 in fines, penalties and compensation awards for the employer.

All employers need to ensure they have robust policies and procedures in place, policies and procedures that are understood and adhered to by all. In the event of incident employers need to respond promptly and investigate thoroughly. Concrew Training’s courses on preventing sexual harassment at work help employers get it right

The tribunal held that the following claims succeeded

of the first claimant

a complaint of ordinary constructive unfair dismissal.
a complaint of discriminatory constructive dismissal.
complaint of disability-related harassment limited to the following allegations
- at the end of February 2022 Mr R. falsely accused the first claimant of putting things on social media about her Multiple Sclerosis.
- the respondent failed to address the treatment of the first claimant by Mr R’s family (which occurred on a number of occasions between December 2021 and March 2022) such as walking past and sniggering,
- making comments, being snubbed – all of which worsened after she reported the JP incident.

of the second claimant

a complaint of discriminatory constructive unfair dismissal.
a complaint of sexual harassment limited to the following allegations: –
- between late 30 December 2021 and early 31 December 2021 Mr R grabbed the second claimant by the arm and pulled her, shouting at her to get behind the bar and groped the second claimant’s bottom.
- On 15 March 2022 Mr R referred to the second claim’s breasts.
- on numerous occasions the second claimant’s breasts were commented on by Mr
- on the date of Mr R’s sixtieth birthday party, referring to an image on her T-shirt, Mr R said that he wished it was his face on the second claims breasts, not simply a picture of his face

Read the full case history here

The Importance of Sexual Harassment Investigation Training

Two council workers have won a harassment claim over a colleague exposing himself to them outside of work, there are many learning points from case law – HR and senior leaders, the overarching one being HR teams, Sexual Harassment Investigators need robust training in investigating sexual harassment.

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Whistle blowing and Sexual Harassment 06 April 2026

Changes to employment law, effective today, 06 April 2026, make sexual harassment a “qualifying disclosure”

Sexual Harassment that “has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur.” can now be reported under whistle blowing regulations.

Employers need to ensure their sexual harassment policies and procedures are fully robust.

Concrew Training can help

December 2025 – 22 sexual harassment tribunals

A quick review of UK employment tribunal decisions for the month of December 2025 shows 22 cases relating to sexual harassment at work.

Whilst many of these appeals were dismissed the employers nevertheless incurred the time, cost, adverse publicity and stress associated with defending them. Read more

ACAS Sexual Harassment complaints

ACAS received 5,583 calls related to sexual harassment in the first half of 2025.

Will your organisation be next? Read more

Sexual harassment – Workplace Penalties

Sexual Harassment Investigators attending our training courses frequently state their reasons for attending is to understand process better and to find out more about what sanctions they can apply and when to report matters to the police, DBS etc. Our courses cover all but we have also produced a free guide on sanctions and reporting.

sexual harassment at work – tougher laws 2026

Government’s Employment Rights Act requires employers to take ALL reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees whilst at work.

Current legislation requires employers to take “reasonable steps”, the Employment Rights Bill aims to change this to “all reasonable steps”

It doesn’t sound that different BUT is a significantly higher benchmark.

In the event of tribunal employers will need to be able to evidence that there was absolutely nothing more they could have done to prevent the abuse.

At present having policies and procedures in place could be deemed reasonable. To reach the higher bar employers will, as a minimum need to ensure

policies and procedures are reviewed and updated. regularly and after any occurrence.
staff receive annual training and regular reminders, for example through payslips, newsletters, posters.
employee representation groups are in place and they include representatives from minority groups
every incident or report is fully investigated and processes tightened to prevent recurrence
robust investigation procedures are in place
those tasked with investigation have been trained in robust approach and practice
all those involved understand the importance of defensible documentation

Concrew Training offer a range of courses on preventing sexual harassment at work. We cover everything from developing policies and procedures to training investigators, managers and staff. Buying training and support from us is way way cheaper than the costs associated with incidents and tribunals and helps evidence that all reasonable steps have been taken.

In the event of tribunal employers need to ensure that there is absolutely nothing more they could have done.

find out more >>>

what is sexual harassment?

We have issued a short summary that defines sexual harassment.

It is important that those writing policies and procedures, as well as those investigating complaints about sexual harassment can define sexual harassment in a robust and meaningful way. Our summary helps

Training for Sexual Harassment at Work Investigators

The effective Investigation of Sexual Harassment at Work demands robust organisational policies and high quality training for investigators.

We are now taking bookings for our new one-day course for investigators.

Preventing Sexual Harassment Training for Staff

Concrew Training’s whole workforce training on sexual harassment; what it looks like, the harm it causes and how to report it, costs as little as £600+vat.