What is a Section 278 Agreement?

A Section 278 Agreement is a legal agreement between a developer and a highway authority to carry out highway works.

Employer Liability For Harassment: What HR Need To Know

Harassment at work is usually carried out by individuals – but under UK law, employers can still be held responsible. This is because of a legal principle called “vicarious liability”, which means a business can be liable for harassment carried out by an employee if it happened “in the course of employment.”

What does “in the course of employment” mean?

It doesn’t just mean behaviour that takes place at someone’s desk or during office hours. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), in AB v Grafters Ltd, has reminded us that the term is interpreted broadly.

In that case, an agency worker was harassed by a colleague who had offered her a lift home after she turned up for a shift she wasn’t rostered to work. The EAT said the harassment could still be considered connected to work, even though it happened in a car, not the workplace.

Key points from the case:

Broad scope: Harassment doesn’t have to happen in the office or during work hours to be the employer’s responsibility.
Connection matters: If the workplace provided the opportunity (a “springboard”) for the conduct, it may still be “in the course of employment.”
Employer awareness irrelevant: It doesn’t matter whether the employer knew or approved of the conduct.

What this means for HR

Anti-harassment policies and training must cover any situation linked to work – not just the workplace itself.
This includes work socials, client events, and even private settings where colleagues interact because of work.
Remind staff that professional standards apply wherever work provides the context.