Ikea UK reaches agreement with EHRC to improve sexual harassment policies | Sexual harassment

Ikea UK has reached an agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to improve its sexual harassment policies and practices after a complaint from a former employee.

The agreement comes after the EHRC was made aware of an allegation of sexual assault and harassment at Ikea UK and reported that the allegations had not been dealt with appropriately by management at one of the stores. British company.

As part of the deal, Ikea UK has pledged to review the way it deals with sexual harassment and meet its responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, the EHRC said in a statement. communicated.

This includes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment for all staff, working with a specialist external legal partner to review its sexual harassment policies and processes, and training HR staff and all hierarchical superiors.

The deal is expected to last until August 2025.

Kishwer Falkner, President of the EHRC, said: “No matter how small, every employer is responsible for protecting their workforce and sexual harassment must not be tolerated.

“As the UK’s equality regulator, we help employers understand the law and take action to prevent it being broken.

“By signing this agreement, Ikea UK has taken an important step to ensure that its staff are better protected against harassment.”

Ikea UK has 22 stores in the UK and over 11,700 employees.