Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many incidents of sexual harassment have been formally reported in her Department in each of the last five years; and what steps her Department is taking to estimate the number of such cases that are unreported.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
All formal cases of harassment, bullying and discrimination are required to be flagged with the DWP’s expert HR Investigation Service. In the past year (Dec 23 - Nov 24) the HR Investigation Service has investigated 24 cases of alleged sexual harassment.
DWP is currently defending Employment Tribunal 34 cases, lodged within the past two years, with harassment as one of the heads of claim. The ET1 claim form specifies only “harassment” so the 34 cases include cases of harassment on grounds other than sexual harassment.
DWP has improved data collation and insight over the past year. Data for each of the past 5 years can only be provided at disproportionate cost as it would require collecting data from local managers across the Department.
DWP has not taken formal steps to estimate the number of cases of sexual harassment that are unreported. DWP attaches the highest priority to investigating allegations of alleged sexual harassment and will always listen sensitively to employees raising concerns about alleged harassment and ensure they are fully supported. There are a number of alternative routes for possible reporting of concerns and these are regularly publicised to all colleagues
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is in her Department to conclude investigations into reports of sexual harassment; and what steps her Department takes to ensure that this process is conducted (a) promptly and (b) thoroughly.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To identify the time taken to investigate all cases specifically alleging sexual harassment would require gathering information from across DWP managers and would therefore incur disproportionate cost. For cases investigated by our expert HR Investigation Service, the average time taken to investigate a complaint and reach a decision is 14 weeks.
DWP attaches the highest priority to rigorously investigating allegations of alleged sexual harassment and will always listen sensitively to employees raising concerns about alleged harassment and ensure they are fully supported. All allegations of sexual harassment are required to be notified to the DWP HR Investigation Service, DWP’s in house expert investigation team. The team investigate the most serious and complex cases, with other cases being investigated either by one of a pool of independent trained investigators drawn from across the Department, or by local managers. If the HR Investigation Service team are not personally investigating, they provide support investigators. Senior managers in the work area are also required to monitor progress of investigations and to keep all concerned informed of progress. All investigations are completed in line with DWP policy and standard, with a suite of advisory videos, template reports and guidance for those conducting investigations.