PHARMACY owners are being urged to adopt a zero tolerance approach to workplace sexual harassment.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has advised members to ensure they comply with all regulations and relevant laws relating to sexual harassment following the publication of a survey of retail workers, by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), which found almost half of young women working in the sector had experienced sexual harassment while at work in the last five years.
The survey of Shop, Distributive and Allied Employee's Association (SDA) members, which represents retail staff including pharmacy assistants, revealed 36% of incidents of sexual harassment involved a customer, while 29% were committed by a peer in a similar role.
Business owners were involved in 3% of cases, while direct supervisors were responsible for 11% of incidents of sexual harassment, while managers and senior co-workers were linked to a combined 24%.
The AHRC found SDA members aged 18 to 29 years reported they had been sexually harassed by a customer an average of 7.2 times in the last 12 months, while older members reported an average of 4.1 incidents in the same period.
The most common form of harassment listed by respondents was "sexually suggestive comments or offensive jokes" (26%) followed by "inappropriate staring or leering" (20%).
The Guild urged pharmacy owners to conduct a bullying, harassment and discrimination risk assessment of their stores and ensure they have formal and informal grievance procedures in place.
The Guild also recommended that pharmacy owners and managers review all policies and procedures on a regular basis.
"The Guild advises members to ensure that all regulations and relevant laws are complied with and that a zero tolerance approach is taken towards sexual harassment," a spokesperson said.
"To ensure this approach is taken and adhered to, the Guild advises that the grievance process in individual pharmacies should clearly state who the contact person within the organisation is and how to contact them.
"A second person can be nominated in the event that staff are not comfortable raising a concern with their manager or supervisor."
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 30 Oct 19
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