Baker’s Delight staff Laura Lopez and Erin Carroll.Credit:Simon Schluter
In the first review of its kind,the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission checked whether Bakers Delight was adhering to the state’s unique laws that give employers a positive duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment,a stance the federal government has promised to adopt.
It found Bakers Delight did not have a sexual harassment prevention plan or central register to record complaints and had not trained staff on how to prevent sexual harassment.
The investigation was not sparked by a specific complaint. The watchdog chose Bakers Delight because the retail industry is a high-risk area for sexual harassment and the gendered nature of bakery work means men are usually employed as bakers and young women as servers.
Bakers Delight joint CEO Elise Gillespie says the company will overhaul its protections nationwide.Credit:Simon Schutler
Bakers Delight joint chief executive Elise Gillespie said the findings,while relating only to Victoria’s laws,had prompted the company to overhaul its procedures nationwide,and backed consistent legislation across Australia.
“It’s something we take seriously,” Gillespie said. “We’ve got this great opportunity,given the findings of the investigation,so we’ve got that really clear road map,so we can be the leader nationally.”
She said the overhaul would potentially involve messaging in stores or on social media about appropriate behaviour from customers,adding “that’s something we would engage our bakeries on as we work through the process”.