HR @ WORK STORIES SERIES

HR@WORK Story Series 001

Harassment

Amy, an administrative assistant at a recruiting company quit her job without offering any explanation and subsequently applied for unemployment benefits. Some executives opposed her application on the grounds that Amy had left voluntarily and without making any formal complaints. But the HR director, wanted to investigate further before making any decisions.

So, she called Amy and told her that she wanted to learn more about the reasons behind her abrupt departure. In doing so, HR manager discovered that Amy had been subjected to offensive sexual behaviour by two male employees at the company. She had never complained because she felt threatened.

After investigating further, HR manager informed Amy that the company would no longer oppose the unemployment claim and thanked her for sharing the information. Then she worked with the offending employees’ manager to ensure that the two workers received written reprimands and warnings.

Lesson Learned: HR Manager did not allow herself to get caught up in a legal debate about whether Amy had made a timely complaint. Instead, she focused on getting to the bottom of what had happened. She found the problem and corrected it.

Do you think is the HR correct?