Several high-profile sexual assault cases came to light this autumn. In September, rapper Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs was arrested for a slew of charges, including sex trafficking, sexual assault rape, and physical violence at meetings and events over the last two decades.
In the same month, 20 women accused deceased Harrods owner, Mohamed al Fayed, of sexual assault and rape. A BBC documentary, Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, depicts a culture where employees across the organisation knew about, and enabled, the department store owner’s behaviour for nearly 20 years.
Read more: Harrods allegations: How should HR hold power to account?
“If I knew, everyone knew,” former Harrods department manager Tony Leeming says in the documentary, which details the role that managers, staff, personal security and HR played in identifying and delivering al Fayed’s alleged victims. “It wasn’t a secret. Everyone around the whole company knew.” Sky News reported at the end of October that, since the BBC documentary was released, the Justice for Harrods Survivors Group has been contacted by more than 400 victims or witnesses relating to al Fayed.
“Predators often thrive by exploiting their position of power and the culture around them,” explains Stephen Cooper, managing director of training provider Stop Sexual Misconduct. “Fear of retaliation and institutionalised silence can allow predators to operate unchecked for years.”
“HR departments can play a crucial role in identifying, addressing and preventing predatory behaviour, even in cases where such actions have been historically tolerated,” says Eyal Ben-Cohen, CEO of background check company Verifile.
Samantha Mangwana, director and head of strategy at work behaviour and culture consultancy Byrne Dean, adds: “[HR’s] job, ultimately, is to help the organisation form a view of whether the conduct has happened or not, on the balance of probabilities. Is it more likely than not that the predatory behaviour has been happening?”
Next, HR must identify who they can go to with their concerns. “Understand your organisation’s governance: obvious suspects would be the general counsel, perhaps any non-executive directors with a people brief. Sharing and agreeing your plans with this group and agreeing confidentiality is an important first step, and will allow you to move forward.”
HR will likely face backlash when attempting to address a culture where everyone knows about a sexual predator, according to Gemma McCall, CEO of culture transformation platform Culture Shift.
Resistance is especially likely when the predator is a senior leader, Ruth Cornish, founder of HR consultancy Amelore, explains. “Senior leaders can be notoriously hard to tackle, and HR cannot do so alone. They need the support of someone more senior and or, external and independent – often a chair or an experienced, empowered non-executive.
“In-house HR is especially vulnerable. Organisations can turn on them if the senior leader responds by aggressively making a counter claim or allegation (which is fairly common).”
Cooper notes: “Allegations against senior leaders may expose biases or favouritism. HR must remain neutral and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of employees over the influence of the accused.”
HR might want to consider consulting external experts to help with investigation into a sexual predator, Cooper advises. He says: “When the predator is in a position of power, HR must involve external consultants or legal experts to ensure transparency and impartiality in investigating those in senior roles.” Organisations or consultants that take a trauma-informed and person-centred approach are preferable, Mangwana suggests.
Read more: Workplace investigations: when to bring in outside help
Establishing clear and anonymous reporting mechanisms could encourage both current and former employees or witnesses to come forward with evidence that can be used to build a case, explains McCall. Reports that are made must be dealt with and documented as quickly as possible.
However, it is possible employees will be afraid to speak up, even with clear reporting structures, notes Doirean Wilson, associate professor in sustainability management, University of East London. “How sexual predators get away with their behaviour is by isolating victims, buying silences, feeding off employees’ fear of losing their jobs and intimidation,” she comments.
HR should try to make use of information that could point to evidence of a sexual predator. “You can’t insist people go on the record retrospectively to complain about the predator, but there’s nothing stopping you from looking at data you already hold, and sitting down with people who have talked in the past to HR, or have been mentioned as being potentially people with knowledge,” Mangwana suggests.
“Reaching out to ex-colleagues and other non-employee witnesses can also be useful.”
Training managers and employees about how to spot sexual harassment is also crucial, Cornish emphasises. “HR has to work in collaboration with line managers and share a desire to identify and tackle predators in the workplace,” she explains. “This can’t be an HR initiative only, or it will fail.”
Sudden resignations or transfers, frequent complaints about a specific individual and closed circles of power that are resistant to scrutiny could be signs there is a predator within the organisation, says Cooper.
If predatory behaviour is identified, HR should meet with the individual to set out the consequences, Wilson advises: “In the presence of at least two senior members of HR, present them with any historic evidence or allegations, and quote the Equality Act 2010.
“HR should make explicit that such behaviour will be treated as gross misconduct, specifying the consequences, particularly where there has been a breach of the legislation.” Any disciplinary action must be taken in line with unfair dismissal procedure, Mangwana notes. “Communications (both internal and external) will be massively important. Having set up the right group at the outset will benefit you greatly,” she explains.
Investigations into predatory behaviour should also consider who else has been complicit. “In ‘everyone knows’ cultures, it’s not just the predator who must be held accountable,” Cooper states.
“Those who knew about the behaviour and failed to act – managers, colleagues, HR personnel – share some responsibility. HR should investigate the extent to which bystanders enabled or ignored misconduct and take appropriate action, which could include disciplinary measures or retraining.”
Following an appropriate response to the predator’s behaviour, HR should seek to reform company culture. This must come from the top, McCall urges.
She says: “Leadership must publicly and privately support a culture of accountability, potentially by publishing data trends identified through anonymous reporting platforms, alongside an action plan of how future risks will be mitigated.”
Steps being taken to address the culture must be clearly communicated, and employee recovery should be supported, Cooper explains. A review into policies should follow, he adds, and training for all employees on “recognising, preventing and responding to workplace harassment” should be mandatory.
To stop predators rising to senior levels in future, HR could adopt screening processes, Ben-Cohen suggests: “Effective screening shouldn’t be limited to new hires but must extend to internal promotions, particularly those moving into leadership roles where power imbalances are most at risk of being abused, ensuring that those in power are held to the same level of scrutiny.”
“Monitoring behaviour over time and regularly reassessing background checks can also help root out predators and build a strong case when action is needed. Cultivating an organisational culture that does not tolerate misconduct from any level of employee sends a strong message that no one is above accountability.”
Spot the signs of a sexual predator
What should HR should look out for, to identify a sexual predator within their organisation? Stephen Cooper, managing director of training company Stop Sexual Misconduct, shares advice.
“HR should be vigilant for signs of misconduct, such as patterns of high turnover, frequent complaints about specific individuals, or unexplainable transfers of staff. Even if HR is unaware of a predator within the organisation, there are signs to watch for:
● Sudden resignations: A high turnover rate among employees working with a specific individual may indicate a problem.
● Complaints and discomfort: Frequent or subtle complaints about a person’s behaviour, even if they don’t rise to formal grievances, should be taken seriously.
● Closed circles of power: Predators often protect themselves by building a network of enablers. HR should be aware of any group that seems unusually insular or resistant to scrutiny.
This article was published in the November/December 2024 edition of HR magazine.
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