No respect, no service in gastronomy!

Talks are taking place between the Vienna Chamber of Labour (AK), the vida trade union and the gastronomy section of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce about a protection concept against sexual harassment in the world of work. For this purpose, an online survey was carried out among Chamber of Labour members who work in the Viennese gastronomy sector. 881 employees took part in the non-representative online survey. The results were presented by AK Vienna and vida in a press conference on 5 April 2024.

79 percent confronted with harassment

The results show: 79 percent of all women who work in the restaurant industry have already experienced or observed sexual harassment. This value is almost congruent with a representative US study from 2014. According to the survey, 80 percent of all female service staff have already experienced sexual harassment by guests or employees in their own business. 54 percent of the men in the current online survey also stated that they had experienced or observed sexual harassment. Overall, 72 percent of workers said they had experienced or witnessed sexual harassment. At 62 percent, the vast majority say that this has even happened several times.

Employers must remedy the situation

It also shows that employers do not fulfil their legal responsibility to protect their employees from sexual harassment: 60 percent of employees stated that employers did nothing in cases of sexual harassment even though they were reported to them, explains Ludwig Dvořák, Head of Employment Law Advice and Legal Protection, AK Vienna. "The law clearly states: Employers must remedy the situation in any case as part of their legal duty of care. It doesn't matter whether the perpetrators are well-paying guests, high-performing colleagues or close confidants at management level. Anyone who does nothing here is complicit. The fact that the employer does nothing is simply a violation of the law, for which we as AK are demanding damages in court."

 

"Sexual harassment is an attack on human dignity."
Olivia Janisch, vida Women's Chairwoman 

Solutions are therefore needed in the form of a protection concept. We are currently in talks with the Gastronomy Section about a protection concept for the industry in Vienna. "On the part of employees, 81 percent say in the online survey that they would like to see a clear stance in the company that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. One employee put it in a nutshell as follows: She would like information material under the title 'No respect, no service!'. On the part of employers, the desire for material that can be used directly on site is also a top priority."

Legal measures for all industries

People also need better legal protection. In the open answers in the survey, employees frequently demanded higher penalties, more consistent handling and facilitation of enforcement, up to and including the withdrawal of the trade license. With a change in the law demanded by vida and AK, preventive measures are to be anchored in companies. If companies have demonstrably not taken any measures against sexual harassment, the compensation is to rise to at least 5,000 euros in the event of sexual harassment. For the time being, the social partners want to show that preventive measures are feasible for the Viennese gastronomy. However, employees need legal measures against sexual harassment in the workplace in all industries.