The first week after a workplace harassment report comes in

When a harassment report comes in at a small company, the CEO is tempted to call the two people in and have them clear up the misunderstanding. After all, they know each other and have to keep working together. But what the law requires of the company is not brokering a reconciliation; it is investigation and protection. If you get the order wrong, the company will later be told it failed to fulfill its obligations.

What the law requires

When an employer receives a report or becomes aware of harassment, it must without delay conduct an objective investigation of the parties and others involved (Article 76-3 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법)). During the investigation, the employee claiming harm must be protected, but no measure may be taken against that employee's wishes. If harassment is confirmed, the employer must take measures such as a change of workplace at the victim's request, and must hear the victim's views before disciplining the perpetrator.

Unfavorable treatment of the reporter or victim, such as dismissal, is punishable by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won (Article 109). Failing to investigate or breaching the duty to take measures may lead to an administrative fine, and if the employer personally committed the harassment, an administrative fine of up to 10 million won applies (Article 116). For sexual harassment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (남녀고용평등법) sets out investigation and protection in a similar structure.

What to do in the first week

• Record the date, time and content of the report in writing and inform the reporter that it has been received
• Ask the employee claiming harm for their views and decide on protective measures such as separating seating or paid leave
• Appoint an investigator with no stake in the matter involving the person accused
• Preserve materials that could be deleted, such as messenger chats, emails and CCTV footage
• Inform everyone involved in the investigation of their duty of confidentiality

The investigation starts by breaking down the report into individual acts. If there are two acts, such as verbal abuse and unfair exclusion from work, check separately for each when and where it happened and who saw it. Interview the reporter, the accused and witnesses in that order, and have each person sign their statement.

The investigation report states, act by act, whether it is found to be true and on what basis, and the judgment on whether it went beyond the appropriate scope of work. Even if the conclusion is that harassment is not established, the record of a diligent investigation itself protects the company in any later petition or lawsuit.

Warn the parties in advance not to contact each other or ask witnesses to give statements during the investigation. If there are signs of this, record them with the dates. If the investigation drags on, the anxiety of the employee claiming harm also grows, so letting them know the rough timeline is itself one of the protective measures.

If the person accused is the CEO or an executive

If the person accused directs the investigation, it will be hard to have its objectivity accepted whatever the conclusion. In such cases, it is better to entrust it to an outside investigator and separate the reporting line as well. Even if the investigation does not find harassment, disciplining the reporter calls for great caution unless they made a report they knew to be clearly false.

The harassment provisions of the Labor Standards Act do not apply to workplaces with four or fewer regular employees. Even so, verbal abuse or sexual harassment can lead to criminal or civil liability, so it is not something to take lightly.