Equality and Human Rights Commission

A worker employed by your or your agent may be personally responsible for their own acts of discrimination, harassment or victimisation carried out during their employment or while acting with your authority. This applies where either:

• you are also liable as their employer or principal, or
• you would be responsible but you show that:
  • you took all reasonable steps to prevent your worker discriminating against, harassing or victimising someone, or 
  • that your agent acted outside the scope of your authority.

For example:

A factory worker racially harasses their colleague. The employer would be liable for the worker’s actions, but is able to show that they took all reasonable steps to stop the harassment. The colleague can still claim compensation against the factory worker in an Employment Tribunal.

But there is an exception to this. A worker or agent will not be responsible if their employer or principal has told them that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing and the employee or agent reasonably believes this to be true.

It is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine, for an employer or principal to make a false statement which an employee or agent relies upon to carry out an unlawful act.