What is the difference between discrimination and harassment in the workplace?
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The four anti-discrimination ordinances in Hong Kong (the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480), the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487), the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 527) and the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 602)) prohibit both discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Discrimination and harassment are certainly different as they refer to different types of acts and/or conduct.
General definitions
The general dictionary definitions of the terms “discrimination” and “harassment” are different:
- Discrimination: It is defined as the accomplished or intended differential treatment of social groups or persons due to certain generalised traits.
- Harassment: It refers to behaviours used or adopted by one person that intends to annoy or trouble another person, e.g. repeatedly attacking the other person or trying to cause the other person problems.
Workplace-specific definitions
In relation to workplace discrimination and harassment, the definitions provided by the four anti-discrimination ordinances are more specific as they are tailored to the workplace scenario. The terms “discrimination” and “harassment” are defined in the workplace context as:
- Direct discrimination: This occurs when a job candidate or employee is treated less favourably than another candidate or employee based on the prohibited grounds, e.g. a promotion is not offered to a woman but to a man who is less qualified.
- Indirect discrimination: This occurs when a policy, rule or practice equally applies to everyone but has a disproportionate effect on a group of people, e.g. specifying in a job advertisement or promotion that candidates can only apply if English is their first language.
- Harassment: This occurs when someone conducts an act that is unwelcomed or unwanted by another person, e.g. name calling, offensive jokes, mockery or ridicule, interference with work performance and intimation.
Bibliography:
- Hong Kong Government, ‘Discrimination in the Workplace’: https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/employment/labour/discrimination.htm
