Actively fighting against Harassment is no longer a “nice to have” for business. It is mandatory since the 29 of March. Juliane Nitsche is THE harassment prevention expert in Luxembourg. She explains us how to comply with the new law.
- What are the important changes the new law brought?
The most important part is that if an employee thinks that he or she suffered from harassment and is not satisfied the way his or her employer treats his case, he can seek support from the Work Inspection (ITM).
2. Another point is that the employers are now obliged to take prevention measures. But do they have a performance requirement?
The law does not explicitly impose an obligation of result but on the other hand, employers have to conduct regularly internal audit to evaluate the efficiency of the measures they took against harassment. The law says nothing about the signification of “regularly” but we can consider that the evaluation has to be done at least once a year and also every time a problem occurs. If a harassment case happens, it’s probably the sign that you have to review the prevention measures.
3. This assessment obligation, is it a good thing?
I would answer yes, although this may be seen as an additional burden. But in this area, it is important to put in place a real quality approach, based on continuous improvement, as this is a sensitive subject that must be managed with care. You don’t necessarily have the best approach from the start, and that’s what you have to evaluate.
4. What is the role of staff delegations?
The staff delegation has a role of monitoring and making proposals concerning the measures implemented by the employer on one hand. On the other hand, it is entitled to assist and advise the employee who is the subject of mobbing. In this role, the staff delegation is obviously bound by strict confidentiality
5. How to get yourself in order?
Employers should first review the procedures that are in place to prevent harassment and behavioral problems. If there are no measures in place, or if the measures are clearly insufficient, it is time to put in place a real preventive policy on harassment.
ERIA can help employers to design and implement these measures, and also to train the managers who will be responsible for their implementation. Harassment is a sensitive issue, and good intentions are not always enough to solve problems. This is why the help of highly experienced experts is of great help.