Although harassment laws vary by jurisdiction, employers are typically required to address harassment, whether it comes from a colleague or a third party. Indeed, since employers are generally obligated to protect employees from workplace harassment, the origin of the harassing behaviour is of little importance.
When harassment occurs between colleagues, the person being harassed files their complaint with their employer. However, when harassment comes from a third party, such as someone outside the company, there may be confusion about where to file the complaint: with their own employer or with that of the third party?
Over the years, this situation has come up a few times, and people sometimes mistakenly try to file their complaint with the third party’s employer. However, the obligation to protect employees from harassment falls on the alleged victim’s employer. Indeed, only the employer of the person alleging harassment can exercise some control over the work environment and intervene to stop the harassment. In other words, the complaint represents an internal procedure, and there is no mechanism allowing an employee to file a harassment complaint with an employer who is not their own.
There are many scenarios in which a third party can harass an employee. The typical scenario involves a delivery person or contractor who comes to the workplace and harasses an employee. However, there are many other situations. An employee might be harassed at work by clients, patients, parents of students, suppliers, public transport users, building residents, and so on.
The goal is to ensure the employee can work without being harassed, not to punish the harasser (although this may sometimes be a result). Therefore, it is up to the harassed employee’s employer to intervene to stop the harassment or to implement measures to protect them. Naturally, these measures will vary depending on the circumstances.
As for the employer who receives a complaint against one of its employees from someone who is not their employee, they must still consider how to handle it. Their response will vary depending on the nature of the allegations, but two options seem available in the context of a workplace harassment complaint. The first is to dismiss the complaint, as the employer has no obligation to protect other companies’ employees; their obligation is only to their own employees. The other option is to take measures, perhaps in the form of a preliminary investigation, to ensure that the behaviour alleged against one of their employees is an isolated case and not a risk to their own employees as well.
It is possible that the third party filing a complaint may be a former employee. In such cases, the employer should conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if the allegations could pose a risk to other employees. Since behaviours or remarks that may constitute harassment can affect many employees within the workplace, it’s important to address the possibility of workplace harassment. Where the complaint originated may be irrelevant.
As you can see, while employees must file harassment complaints with their own employer, an employer who receives a complaint from someone outside their organization can still review it, rather than dismissing it simply because the complainant isn’t their employee.
Translated from the original French version.
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Please note the information provided in this blog post is for general informational purposes only and every situation should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.