The Labour Court recommended that Johnson & Johnson Vision pay Elsa Gonzalez Del Mazo €1,000 as a goodwill gesture after concerns about her arrangements at work following an upheld sexual-harassment complaint. The recommendation was signed on 20 December 2023.
The employer’s internal investigation upheld Ms Gonzalez del Mazo’s complaint against a colleague. She told the Court that she was required to continue working with and reporting to that colleague and was not allowed to work remotely. She said this amounted to bullying and harassment. The employer did not attend the hearing.
She had not raised a bullying-and-harassment complaint under the employer’s procedures about what happened after the sexual-harassment investigation. By the time of the hearing, arrangements had been made for her to report to someone else and work remotely; she was satisfied with those arrangements but worried they might change.
The Court recommended that she use the employer’s policy to raise any complaint about subsequent alleged behaviour. It also recommended that the employer acknowledge her account and the Court’s concerns, make the €1,000 payment, and take account of her experience in any future changes to her reporting or remote-working arrangements.