While in the world of international employment compliance, words such as Discrimination and Harassment tend to go hand in hand, but aren’t synonyms. When engaging in multijurisdictional employment, employers need to be very clear on the differences between discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, as each is dealt with differently under different countries’ labor laws and entails different compliance obligations and juridical penalties.
As companies grow globally and deal with multicultural employees, keeping pace with global labor laws becomes crucial. For support groups like HR, Legal, and Compliance, gaining an insight into these differences can be vital in preventing breaches, reducing risk, and upholding a respectful work environment according to the relevant laws.
What is Discrimination?
Workplace discrimination exists when the employee or the job applicant is treated differently on the basis of a protected characteristic. The usual protected characteristics are race, gender, age, religion, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation, but the countries may have different protected categories. Both direct and indirect discrimination are illegal in most jurisdictions.
- Direct discrimination is where an individual is treated less favorably due to a particular characteristic (e.g., not employing a competent candidate on the grounds of nationality).
- Indirect discrimination arises where a policy or practice, on its face neutral appears disproportionately to affect a protected group (e.g., insisting on full-time availability, which could put working mothers at a disadvantage in certain jurisdictions).
Knowing what discrimination and harassment are and ensuring that hiring, promotion, and termination procedures are consistent with local legislation are necessary components of staying compliant.
What is Harassment?
Harassment is unwanted behavior associated with a protected characteristic that incites a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, or offensive environment. In contrast to discrimination, harassment is frequently more about conduct and its effect than individual employment decisions.
Examples of harassment in the workplace are:
- Offensive remarks or jokes made about a person’s gender or religion
- Touching or sexual advances that are inappropriate
- Persistent intimidation or use of bullying strategies
Both sexual harassment and non-sexual harassment are illegal in most countries. The test for what is deemed harassment can vary, but widespread international principles involve workplace dignity and respect.
Multinational organizations have to keep an eye on region-based definitions. For example, workplace harassment in the EU would not necessarily be up to the mark in some Asian nations. That’s why it is critical to have visibility into jurisdiction-based legislation on discrimination and harassment.
What is Retaliation?
Retaliation is the taking of an unfavorable action against an employee for participating in a legally protected activity, including reporting harassment or discrimination, making a complaint, or cooperating in an investigation.
Protected activities are:
- Reporting abuse internally or to a government agency
- Cooperating as a witness in an investigation
- Refusal to comply with a directive that would lead to discrimination
Retaliation regulations are in place to allow employees to report issues without fear of retaliation. Retaliation can take the form of demotions, salary reductions, unfair negative performance appraisals, or firings.
The distinction here is that retaliation doesn’t need the initial complaint (e.g., discrimination or harassment) to be confirmed. As long as the actions of the employee were protected, retaliatory practices are still illegal.
Why It Matters in a Global Compliance Context
Mistakes in complaint handling or misunderstanding jurisdictional nuances in the way discrimination and harassment or retaliation are defined can have serious repercussions for businesses. Legal fines, reputational harm, and employee turnover are usual consequences of non-compliance.
For instance:
- In the U.S., enforcement of anti-discrimination law is the responsibility of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
- In the U.K., protected characteristics are covered under the Equality Act 2010.
- In Canada, both federal and provincial legislation cover workplace harassment and provide whistleblower protection.
With different regulations in different countries, it’s difficult for HR departments to remain compliant, particularly when they don’t have international labor law expertise. That’s why centralized platforms offering country-wise compliance insights are becoming crucial for globally dispersed teams.
How Software Helps Navigate These Complexities
To properly comply, HR and compliance teams require up-to-date, accurate, and jurisdiction-relevant legal information, not best practices or policy forms. A strong software solution can:
- Assist in tracking evolving labor laws by country
- Notify teams of compliance risks or required reporting requirements
- Aggregate legal terms and employment practices in one platform
It’s not a matter of substituting lawyers with technology but giving internal teams the resources they require to prevent infractions and act fast when something happens.
Conclusion
To grasp the subtleties of differences between discrimination and harassment, and retaliation is not just a necessity for ensuring a healthy workplace culture but also a legal necessity for multinational companies. Every jurisdiction has its own interpretation and legal mandate, so it is important that organizations have clear insight into local laws and standards.
Global People Strategist assists HR, legal, and compliance departments by providing a centralized software platform that streamlines global labor compliance. With access to current legal information in more than 150 countries, teams can make informed choices, ensure compliance, and minimize global employment risks.
