Royal Mail harassment case halted

There were 140 claims of sexual harassment over 30 months

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has suspended its investigation into female postal workers' claims of sexual harassment, after the Royal Mail promised to address the problems.

The Commission has warned the Royal Mail that if it fails to stamp out sexual harassment, the investigation will be reopened.

The company will now report to the EOC on a quarterly basis for the next three years and, if it is deemed necessary, for a further two years.

Independent reviews will also take place on an annual basis.

'Inappropriate behaviour'

The EOC's Jenny Watson, who led the inquiry, said she hoped the action plan which had been agreed would lead to a change in culture within the Royal Mail.

She told the BBC's News 24: "We are very clear that the action plan has a very detailed timetable."

Complaints had ranged from verbal comments and inappropriate touching to more serious sexual harassment, she said.

The Commission launched the probe in January of this year, following 48 claims of sex discrimination and 140 claims of sexual harassment over a two-and-a-half year period.

Of the latter, 130 led to internal investigations, and 65% of the complaints were upheld.

'Opportunity'

The Commission was involved in three of these cases, which resulted in either a substantial settlement or imprisonment.

However, when launching the investigation, the Commission said there were grounds to believe that Royal Mail had "failed to take sufficient steps at national, regional or local level to prevent significant sexual harassment of its female employees over a sustained period of time".

Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton had supported the investigation, welcoming it as "an opportunity to stamp out sexual harassment within the company".

The three-year action plan, agreed by the EOC with Royal Mail, will be closely-monitored. It includes the starting up of a helpline for bullying and harassment, plus a complaints procedure for its 220,000 staff.

At the beginning of the year, the Royal Mail installed a free 24-hour helpline in an attempt to stop workers being bullied and harassed.