BOSSES are being urged to move beyond “tick-box exercises” to prevent harassment at work.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said organisations should not rely on the number of harassment reports to determine if they have a problem.

Low harassment reporting rates may indicate a workplace in which employees feel unable to report, rather than the absence of harassment, said the commission.

Its study suggested that when employers are only motivated by reputation management, policies often involve ineffective “box-ticking” interventions which failed to prevent harassment or protect their employees.

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, who chairs the EHRC, said: “Harassment in the workplace is never acceptable, and has a devastating impact on victims.

“It is also bad for business. It negatively impacts staff morale, productivity, absenteeism and turnover.

“We have found that policies need to be developed with a genuine intention of culture change.

“Reputation management tick-box exercises are just not good enough. The presence of interventions cannot be prioritised over their impact.

“Employers need to act now. Tolerating problematic behaviour over time makes systemic problems of harassment more likely to become embedded and more difficult to challenge.”