Uganda Regulation

Parliament of Uganda

Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations, 2012

Jurisdiction: Uganda
Structure: 19 provisions
Citation: Statutory Instrument 15 of 2012
Dates: Undated source snapshot

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Dates: Undated source snapshot

Source attribution: Source: Uganda Legal Information Institute

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“The regulations state the official short title: "The Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations, 2012."”

The regulations state the official short title: "The Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations, 2012." Provides definitions for terms used in the Regulations, including "Act", "committee", "currency point", "harassment", "intimidation", "retaliation" and "sexual harassment in employment". Employers with more than twenty five employees must adopt a written sexual harassment policy that contains specified notices, statements, descriptions, procedures and training; where a union is represented the employer must consult the union before initiating the policy. Employers must give every employee a copy of the sexual harassment policy; for new employees this must be done on commencement and they must be informed of their right to report sexual harassment. Employers must prohibit dissemination of sexually explicit voice mails, e-mail, graphics, downloaded material or websites at the workplace and must include those prohibitions in the workplace policy.

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Preliminary - Title

The regulations state the official short title: "The Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations, 2012."

Section 1

Sexual harassment policy - Display of sexual harassment policy

An employer must post the sexual harassment policy and the names, positions and telephone contacts of sexual harassment committee members in a conspicuous area at the workplace.

Section 6

Sexual harassment committee - Sexual harassment committee

Section 10

Principles of the complaints procedure - Principles of the complaints procedure

The complaints procedure must exhibit the following principles: thoroughness; impartiality; timeliness; gender sensitivity; social dialogue; discretion; confidentiality; and the right to privacy of the victim of harassment.

Section 15

Offences and penalties - Offence and penalty

A person who contravenes these Regulations commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding six currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three months or both.

Section 19

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Showing 19 of 19 provisions

Provision 12Offence 4Short titleInterpretation

Part I

Preliminary

§ 1Preliminary - TitleShort title

The regulations state the official short title: "The Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations, 2012."

Section Title Section These Regulations may be cited as the Employment (Sexual Harassment) Regulations, 2012.

Section 1

§ 2Preliminary - InterpretationInterpretation

Provides definitions for terms used in the Regulations, including "Act", "committee", "currency point", "harassment", "intimidation", "retaliation" and "sexual harassment in employment".

Section Interpretation Section In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires— " Act " means the Employment Act, 2006 Act No. 6 of 2006 ; " committee " means the sexual harassment committee established in a work place; " currency point " is equivalent to twenty thousand shillings; " harassment " means verbal or physical abuse or behaviour that unreasonably interferes with work or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment including intimidation ; " intimidation " means physical or verbal abuse, or behaviour directed at isolating or humiliating an individual or a group or at preventing them from engaging in normal activities and includes— (a) degrading public tirades by a supervisor or colleague; (b) deliberate insults related to a person's personal or professional competence; (c) threatening or insulting comments, whether oral or written including by e-mail; and (d) deliberate desecration of religious or national symbols or both. " retaliation " means any unwarranted action against an employee or employer or any other person who may be involved in a sexual harassment complaint; " sexual harassment in employment " means— (a) a direct or implicit request to an employee for sexual intercourse, sexual contact or any other form of sexual activity that contains— (i) an implied or express promise of preferential treatment in employment; (ii) an implied or express threat of detrimental treatment in employment; (iii) an implied or express threat about the present or future employment status of the employee; (b) use of language whether written or spoken of a sexual nature such as unwelcome verbal advances, sexual oriented comments, request for sexual favours, jokes of a sexual nature, offensive flirtation or obscene expressions of sexual interest that are addressed directly to the person; (c) use of visual material of a sexual nature such as display of sexually suggestive pictures, objects or written materials or sexually suggestive gestures; and (d) showing physical behavior of a sexual nature such as unwanted and unwelcome touching, patting, pinching or any other unsolicited physical contact; which directly or indirectly subjects the employee to behaviour that is unwelcome or offensive to that employee and that, either by its nature or though repletion, has a detrimental effect on that employee's employment, job performance or job satisfaction.

Section 2

Part II

Sexual harassment policy

§ 3Sexual harassment policy - Sexual harassment policyProvision

Employers with more than twenty five employees must adopt a written sexual harassment policy that contains specified notices, statements, descriptions, procedures and training; where a union is represented the employer must consult the union before initiating the policy.

Section Sexual harassment policy Section An employer with more than twenty five employees shall adopt a written policy against sexual harassment which shall include the following— a notice to employees that sexual harassment at the workplace is unlawful; a statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against an employee for filing a complaint of sexual harassment or for co-operating in an investigation of a sexual harassment complaint; a description and examples of sexual harassment ; a statement of the consequences for employers who are found to have committed sexual harassment ; a description of the process for filing sexual harassment complaints and the addresses and telephone numbers of the person to whom complaints should be made; education and training programmes on sexual harassment for all employees on a regular basis; and additional training for the committee on sexual harassment , supervisory and managerial employees. Where the union is represented at the workplace the employer shall consult the union before initiating the sexual harassment policy.

Section 3

§ 4Sexual harassment policy - Provision of sexual harassment policy to all employeesCommencement

Employers must give every employee a copy of the sexual harassment policy; for new employees this must be done on commencement and they must be informed of their right to report sexual harassment.

Section Provision of sexual harassment policy to all employees Section An employer shall provide each employee with a copy of the sexual harassment policy. An employer shall provide to each new employee a copy of the sexual harassment policy upon commencement of employment and inform the employee of his or her right to report cases of sexual harassment . The policy shall be expressed in a manner and language, which the employees may reasonably be expected to understand.

Section 4

§ 5Sexual harassment policy - Prohibition of the dissemination of sexual materialsProvision

Employers must prohibit dissemination of sexually explicit voice mails, e-mail, graphics, downloaded material or websites at the workplace and must include those prohibitions in the workplace policy.

Section Prohibition of the dissemination of sexual materials Section An employer shall specifically prohibit the dissemination of sexual explicit voice mail, e-mail, graphics, downloaded material or websites in the workplace and shall include these prohibitions in the workplace policy.

Section 5

§ 6Sexual harassment policy - Display of sexual harassment policyProvision

An employer must post the sexual harassment policy and the names, positions and telephone contacts of sexual harassment committee members in a conspicuous area at the workplace.

Section Display of sexual harassment policy Section An employer shall post the sexual harassment policy in a conspicuous area at the workplace. An employer shall post the names, positions and telephone contacts of the members of the sexual harassment committee in a conspicuous area at the workplace.

Section 6

§ 7Sexual harassment policy - Sexual harassment to be part of the collective bargaining agreementProvision

Where a labour union exists, the employer and the labour union must include sexual harassment in the collective bargaining agreement.

Section Sexual harassment to be part of the collective bargaining agreement Section Where a labour union exists in a workplace the employer and the labour union shall include sexual harassment in the collective bargaining agreement.

Section 7

§ 8Sexual harassment policy - Employer to designate a person in charge of sexual harassmentProvision

Employers with more than twenty-five employees must designate a gender-sensitive person to handle sexual harassment complaints.

Section Employer to designate a person in charge of sexual harassment Section An employer with more than twenty-five employees shall designate a person who is gender sensitive to be in charge of sexual harassment complaints. In this regulation, a person shall be taken to be gender sensitive if he or she is conscious of the needs of each gender.

Section 8

§ 9Sexual harassment policy - Duties of the person designated for sexual harassmentProvision

Employers must instruct the recipient of sexual harassment complaints to inform both the complainant and alleged perpetrator that the employer will take certain actions; the designated recipient must acknowledge each complaint; employers must keep complaints confidential where practicable, investigate promptly and neutrally, and not tolerate retaliation.

Section Duties of the person designated for sexual harassment Section An employer shall instruct the recipient of sexual harassment complaints to inform the complainant and the alleged perpetrator that the employer shall— A person designated to receive complaints of sexual harassment shall issue a written acknowledgment of receipt of each complaint received by him or her. keep the complaint confidential to the extent practicable under the circumstances; conduct a prompt and neutral investigation; and not tolerate any form of retaliation against the complainant.

Section 9

Part III

Sexual harassment committee

§ 10Sexual harassment committee - Sexual harassment committeeProvision

An employer must establish a sexual harassment committee of four members (including a Chairperson designated by the employer); representatives are selected annually by each party; committee members must be knowledgeable and may receive complaints; a member receiving a verbal complaint must reduce it to writing, read it to the complainant for signature, and countersign it.

Section Sexual harassment committee Section An employer shall establish a sexual harassment committee composed of representatives of management and employees or labour union representatives selected annually by each party. The committee shall comprise four members, including the Chairperson designated by the employer. Members of the committee shall be persons knowledgeable in and sensitive to gender and sexual harassment issues. A member of the committee may receive a written or verbal complaint and where a verbal complaint is made the committee member receiving it, shall reduce it into writing and read to the complaint who shall sign it and the member of the committee shall countersign it.

Section 10

§ 11Sexual harassment committee - Functions of the committeeOffence

The Committee must handle sexual harassment complaints, including receiving and registering complaints, investigating, recording, responding within fourteen days, reviewing policy, reporting to labour authorities, and carrying out prevention duties.

Section Functions of the committee Section The Committee shall— receive and register complaints of sexual harassment in a form prescribed in the First Schedule; initiate internal investigations into complaints; keep a record of the nature of sexual harassment offences, proceedings, documents, information and action taken; respond to complaints within fourteen days from the date of lodging the complaint with recommendations to management for appropriate action; review the provisions of the policy to convey a responsive and supportive attitude that builds faith and trust: prepare and provide reports under the complaints procedure to the labour commissioner or labour officer; and carry out any other duties as may arise for the prevention of sexual harassment .

Section 11

Part IV

Sexual harassment complaints procedure

§ 12Sexual harassment complaints procedure - Lodging of sexual harassment complaintsProvision

An employee who is sexually harassed by the employer or the employer's representative must lodge a complaint to the labour officer.

Section Lodging of sexual harassment complaints Section An employee who is sexually harassed in any way described in these Regulations, by the employer or employers' representative, shall lodge a complaint to the labour officer.

Section 12

§ 13Sexual harassment complaints procedure - Procedure for handling sexual harassment complaints by labour officerProvision

A labour officer must promptly investigate sexual harassment complaints and perform specified investigative steps, including registering the complaint, interviewing the complainant, obtaining committee reports, notifying and directing the employer, consulting unions where present, disposing of or referring in deadlock, informing parties in writing, preventing retaliation, ordering separation of parties, and monitoring interim measures.

Section Procedure for handling sexual harassment complaints by labour officer Section On receipt of a complaint, the labour officer shall promptly investigate a complaint by taking the following steps— register the details of the complaint in the form prescribed in the Second Schedule; interview the complainant to ascertain the facts of the matter; obtain from the committee the written report of their investigation and decision on the complaint; notify the employer of the complaint and direct the employer to respond to the complaint; investigate the complaint to ascertain the facts to the extent practicable, throughout the investigation and consult the union official where a union exists in the establishment; in case of a labour officer not being a Labour Commissioner, dispose of the complaint or refer it to the Labour Commissioner in case of deadlock; inform the employer and complainant of the decision in writing; inform the employer that he or she will not engage in retaliation against the complainant or anyone else who cooperates with the investigations; order the employer to separate the complainant and the person alleged to have harassed to avoid further harassment without adverse discrimination affecting their working conditions; and continuously monitor the interim measures that are being taken by the employer throughout the investigation and thereafter. At any time during the investigations the person alleged to have harassed the complainant may be temporarily transferred, reassigned or sent on leave pending the completion of the investigations.

Section 13

Part V

Referral to the Industrial Court

§ 14Referral to the Industrial Court - Referral to the Industrial CourtProvision

If the commissioner fails to dispose of a complaint under regulation 13(f), the commissioner must refer the matter to the Industrial Court; aggrieved persons may appeal within twenty one days; the Registrar must within fourteen days require the labour officer to provide full information; the Industrial Court must within fourteen days issue sermons for hearing; specified Rules apply.

Section Referral to the Industrial Court Section Where the commissioner has failed to dispose of a complaint referred to him or her under regulation 13(f) he or she shall refer the matter to the Industrial Court for hearing. A person aggrieved by the decision of a labour officer may within twenty one days give a notice of appeal to the Industrial Court in the form prescribed in the Third Schedule. The Registrar of the Industrial Court shall within fourteen days after receipt of the notice of appeal require the labour officer to provide the Industrial Court with full information concerning the complaint, the parties involved, proceedings of the hearings and action taken. The Industrial Court shall within fourteen days after receiving the required information from the labour officer issue sermons to the parties for hearing. The Labour Disputes (Arbitration and Settlement) (Industrial Court Procedure) Rules, 2012 shall apply.

Section 14

Part VI

Principles of the complaints procedure

§ 15Principles of the complaints procedure - Principles of the complaints procedureProvision

Section Principles of the complaints procedure Section The complaints procedure shall exhibit the following principles— thoroughness; impartiality; timeliness; gender sensitivity; social dialogue; discretion; confidentiality; and the right to privacy of the victim of harassment .

Section 15

§ 16Principles of the complaints procedure - ConfidentialityOffence

Recipients of confidential information have a duty to protect confidentiality; information for sexual harassment complaints may be used only to determine or resolve the complaint; disclosure limited to persons handling the complaint; confidentiality continues after employment ends; contravention is an offence.

Section Confidentiality Section All information received when handling complaints of sexual harassment shall be confidential. A recipient of confidential information shall have a duty to protect the confidentiality of the information. Information received in handling sexual harassment complaints shall only be used for the purpose of determining or resolving the complaint and its disclosure shall be limited to persons involved in handling the complaint. The confidentiality on information received while handling a sexual harassment complaint shall continue to exist after the employment relationship has ceased to exist. A person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence. At any stage of investigation arbitration or trial, the labour officer, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judicial officers, social partners, employer's representatives, the union or workers' representatives, medical practitioners and other parties to the case shall recognise and observe the attributes of the complaints procedure.

Section 16

Part VII

Protection of persons involved in investigations against discrimination

§ 17Protection of persons involved in investigations against discrimination - Retaliation and discriminationProvision

People involved in sexual harassment complaints must not be retaliated against; employers must not discriminate against employees for such involvement; discrimination is defined by a list of protected activities and examples of discriminatory actions.

Section Retaliation and discrimination Section A person involved in a sexual harassment complaint under these Regulations shall not be retaliated against for doing the following— Discrimination under this regulation includes— consulting on, reporting or filing a complaint of sexual harassment ; testifying as a witness in a claim of sexual harassment ; cooperating during any investigation of a sexual harassment complaint; participating in a meeting constituted to discuss sexual harassment in the workplace; discussing the complaint of sexual harassment with the labour union representatives or the employers’ organizations; and carrying out any duties as a member of the committee on sexual harassment . An employer shall not discriminate against an employee based on the employees involvement in a sexual harassment complaint. termination; denial of promotion; demotion in title or duties; transfer to a less favorable position or location; involuntary placement on leave; hostile or abusive treatment; decreasing remuneration or benefits; coercion; threats; and intimidation . In determining whether an action is discriminatory, the proximity in time between the action and the protected activity shall be taken into account but the fact that an action occurred after a protected activity does not make it discriminatory.

Section 17

Part VIII

Offences and penalties

§ 18Offences and penalties - False and frivolous claimOffence

Employees must not knowingly raise false or frivolous sexual harassment claims; if an employee does so the employer may take appropriate disciplinary action.

Section False and frivolous claim Section An employee shall not knowingly raise a false or frivolous sexual harassment claim. Where an employee raises a false or frivolous sexual harassment claim, the employer may take appropriate disciplinary action against that employee.

Section 18

§ 19Offences and penalties - Offence and penaltyOffence

A person who contravenes these Regulations commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding six currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three months or both.

Section Offence and penalty Section A person who contravenes these Regulations, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding six currency points or imprisonment not exceeding three months or both.

Section 19

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