The Other side of Paradise - Part 2
Sexual Harassment
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
2/27/20252 min read
Under Dutch law, various legal responsibilities arise from good employment practices and the employer's duty of care, including but not limited to:
A policy aimed at preventing or limiting "psychosocial workload" needs to be put in place by employers. Psychosocial workload is defined as factors that are indirectly or directly discriminating, including sexual harassment, aggression and violence, bullying and work pressure in a work situation that create stress.
In its risk assessment and evaluation, the employer must identify potential psychosocial risks, including harassment and bullying (if any). These measures must be implemented to mitigate these risks.
The employer also has a general duty of care to its employees to ensure a "socially" safe workplace.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
My work hours were from 5:30 AM to 14:00. However, there were times when I stayed after my shift to chat with some colleagues. One colleague, Liam and I shared a common background, both being from the Caribbean. We would engage in conversations for a while before I headed home. On one occasion, Liam made a comment that led me to express that I shared his interest in women - clarifying that I had no romantic interest in men. A few days later, I was taken aback when he said, “You need to be straight for a day so I can fuck that pussy.” I was shocked and didn’t want to create a scene in the kitchen, so I later sent him a message on WhatsApp to express my discomfort with his comment and to request that it not happen again, regardless of whether he intended it as a joke. I explained that I had experienced similar harassment from men in my home country. He responded by pretending not to understand, saying, “I am not interested.”
I chose not to report this to the head chef, as I had been informed earlier by another colleague that he and Liam were friends. I also refrained from reporting the incident to the HR manager because I had previously sought her help with issues involving Lenny, and nothing had been done. I made a note of the date of the incident, planning to escalate the matter to someone higher than the HR manager. While researching how to handle workplace sexual harassment, I learned that certain questions could be considered harassment under Dutch law. In January, I found out that my grandmother was seriously ill. Having witnessed my grandfather's decline, I knew she wouldn’t have much time left, so I went to inform the HR manager that I would need to take some time off to visit my home country. During this conversation, the topic of why I did not visit before came up and I mentioned that I needed to obtain Dutch citizenship to facilitate easier travelling and that I needed a passport showing my name and gender change. It was during this discussion that the HR manager asked me whether I planned to undergo top or bottom surgery. I found this question highly inappropriate, but I answered it because I had just started working at Preek Hotel and didn’t want to jeopardize my chances of getting a contract extension. This was not the only instance of inappropriate behavior from the HR manager. During a meeting with her, the head chef, and another colleague, she placed her hand briefly on my knee (an unwanted touch) while saying, “Let me sit beside you.”
One would expect that management would take action to address the sexual harassment, given that the company's policy states a zero-tolerance stance on such behaviour in the workplace.