Employer duties against sexual harassment, by country
Most of these laws put the duty on the employer to prevent harassment, but they differ on when the duty starts and what it costs to fail. France and Norway require prevention in advance, Sweden only once the employer knows of a complaint, and Australia turns prevention into a defence: an employer is treated as having done an employee's harassment unless it took all reasonable steps. Germany lets a harassed employee stop work on full pay when the employer does nothing, a remedy none of the others states.
Scope of this guide
Canada: the Canada Labour Code (federal sector) and the Ontario statutes that LawAsked has loaded. Other provinces are not compared.
| Country | Employer duty | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Damages from the employer in the cases the Act names; at least EUR 1,000 for personal impairment | |
| Australia | Take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment by staff or agents | Employer treated as having done the act unless it proves those steps |
| Canada | Take the prescribed measures to prevent and protect against harassment, respond to it and support affected employees | Employer deemed to have committed an employee's act unless it did not consent and used all due diligence |
| Germany | Take the necessary measures to protect against disadvantage, including preventive ones; stop harassment by staff and protect against third parties | Harassed staff may stop work without loss of pay if the employer does nothing or acts clearly unsuitably |
| France | Take all necessary steps to prevent harassment, end it and punish it; inform staff; appoint a referent in firms of 250 or more | Any act contrary to the harassment protections is void; the harasser faces discipline |
| Japan | Set up a consultation system and take other measures needed to respond properly | No dismissal or other disadvantage for raising a complaint |
| Norway | Prevent and seek to stop harassment; work actively against it | Compensation and redress; for harassment the employer is liable if it can be blamed |
| Sweden | Investigate once it knows of a complaint and take reasonable action to prevent it happening again | Pays discrimination compensation for failing the duty |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Gleichbehandlungsgesetz § 12(11)
- Covers sexual harassment under § 6 and sex-based harassment under § 7. The harassed person can claim damages from the harasser and, where § 6(1) Z 2 or § 7(1) Z 2 applies, also from the employer.
- The ingested text of § 6 and § 7 leaves out the lettered items that say when the employer itself is liable, so the guide states no preventive duty for Austria.
im Fall des § 6 Abs. 1 Z 2 oder § 7 Abs. 1 Z 2 auch gegenüber dem/der Arbeitgeber/in Anspruch auf Ersatz des erlittenen Schadensmindestens jedoch auf 1 000 Euro Schadenersatz Australia
- Rule
- Fair Work Act 2009 ss 527D and 527E
- Section 527D bars sexual harassment of a worker or someone seeking to become one, in connection with work. Section 527E makes the principal answerable for acts of its employees and agents.
- The reasonable-steps rule is a defence the employer must prove, not a separate duty stated in the section.
must not sexually harass another person this Act applies in relation to the principal (subject to subsection (2)) as if the principal had also done the actif the principal proves that the principal took all reasonable steps to prevent the employee or agent from doing acts that would contravene subsection 527D(1) Canada
- Rule
- Canada Labour Code s 125(1)(z.16); Canadian Human Rights Act ss 14 and 65
- Federally regulated employers only (Canada Labour Code Part II and the Canadian Human Rights Act). Sexual harassment in matters related to employment is a discriminatory practice.
- The Code also requires harassment and violence training and applies the duty to a former employee if the occurrence becomes known within three months of leaving. Ontario statutes ingested here do not address workplace harassment.
take the prescribed measures to prevent and protect against harassment and violence in the work place, respond to occurrences of harassment and violence in the work place and offer support to employees affected by harassment and violence in the work place in matters related to employment, to harass an individual on a prohibited ground of discriminationsexual harassment shall, for the purposes of that subsection, be deemed to be harassment on a prohibited ground of discrimination shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be an act or omission committed by that person, association or organizationexercised all due diligence to prevent the act or omission from being committed Germany
- Rule
- Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG) §§ 3(4), 12 and 14
- Applies to employees. Training staff to prevent discrimination counts as meeting the duty under § 12(1). The Act and the complaints office must be made known in the workplace.
- The employer must choose a suitable measure for the case, such as a warning, reassignment, transfer or dismissal.
die erforderlichen Maßnahmen zum Schutz vor Benachteiligungen wegen eines in § 1 genannten Grundes zu treffen. Dieser Schutz umfasst auch vorbeugende Maßnahmen.die im Einzelfall geeigneten, erforderlichen und angemessenen Maßnahmen zur Unterbindung der Benachteiligung wie Abmahnung, Umsetzung, Versetzung oder Kündigung zu ergreifenHat der Arbeitgeber seine Beschäftigten in geeigneter Weise zum Zwecke der Verhinderung von Benachteiligung geschult, gilt dies als Erfüllung seiner Pflichten nach Absatz 1. Ergreift der Arbeitgeber keine oder offensichtlich ungeeignete Maßnahmen zur Unterbindung einer Belästigung oder sexuellen Belästigung am Arbeitsplatz, sind die betroffenen Beschäftigten berechtigt, ihre Tätigkeit ohne Verlust des Arbeitsentgelts einzustellen France
- Rule
- Code du travail arts. L1153-1 to L1153-6
- Covers every employee. Harassment includes repeated sexual or sexist remarks or behaviour, and a single serious pressure to obtain a sexual act.
- Workplaces must display the criminal-code text and the contact details of the competent authorities, and anyone who refuses harassment or testifies is protected.
L'employeur prend toutes dispositions nécessaires en vue de prévenir les faits de harcèlement sexuel, d'y mettre un terme et de les sanctionner. Dans toute entreprise employant au moins deux cent cinquante salariés est désigné un référent Toute disposition ou tout acte contraire aux dispositions des articles L. 1153-1 et L. 1153-2 est nul. Tout salarié ayant procédé à des faits de harcèlement sexuel est passible d'une sanction disciplinaire. Japan
- Rule
- 男女雇用機会均等法 第11条
- Covers workers employed by the employer. The duty is to prevent the working environment being harmed by sexual remarks and to protect workers from disadvantage for how they respond to them.
- The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare sets guidelines on the measures required.
当該労働者からの相談に応じ、適切に対応するために必要な体制の整備その他の雇用管理上必要な措置を講じなければならない当該労働者に対して解雇その他不利益な取扱いをしてはならない Norway
- Rule
- Likestillings- og diskrimineringsloven §§ 13, 26 and 38
- Covers all employers. The active-work duty includes documenting the work, and larger employers must also survey risks and take measures.
- For other discrimination in employment the employer is liable whether or not it can be blamed; harassment is the exception.
Arbeidsgivere og ledelsen i organisasjoner og utdanningsinstitusjoner skal innenfor sitt ansvarsområde forebygge og søke å hindre trakassering og seksuell trakassering. Alle arbeidsgivere skal, innenfor sin virksomhet, arbeide aktivt, målrettet og planmessigArbeid som nevnt i denne bestemmelsen skal dokumenteres. kan kreve oppreisning og erstatningI saker om trakassering og seksuell trakassering og på andre samfunnsområder enn nevnt i første punktum, gjelder ansvaret dersom den ansvarlige kan bebreides. Sweden
- Rule
- Diskrimineringslag 2 kap. 3 § and 5 kap. 1 §
- The duty starts when the employer learns that an employee considers they were harassed or sexually harassed by someone who works or does a placement there. It also covers interns and hired-in staff.
- The text states no duty to prevent harassment before a complaint is made.
är arbetsgivaren skyldig att utreda omständigheterna kring de uppgivna trakasserierna och i förekommande fall vidta de åtgärder som skäligen kan krävas för att förhindra trakasserier i framtiden som inte uppfyller sina skyldigheter att utreda och vidta åtgärder mot trakasserier eller sexuella trakasserier enligt denna lag ska betala diskrimineringsersättning Countries not in this table yet
The United States, Spain and the Netherlands are not shown because the ingested statutes (the US Civil Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, the Spanish Estatuto de los Trabajadores, Dutch Civil Code Book 7) state no employer duty against sexual harassment that can be quoted. The United Kingdom is not shown because the Equality Act 2010 is not ingested.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
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LawAsked, “Employer duties against sexual harassment, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/sexual-harassment-employer-duties (reviewed October 25, 2026).
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