What Is Quid Pro Quo Harassment

What is quid pro quo harassment? It describes conduct where a work benefit or detriment is made conditional on a person submitting to a request, most often sexual in nature.

The structure is what defines it. Something the person wants or needs, a promotion, a shift, a reference, a contract renewal, or simply to be left alone, is placed within the control of the person making the request.

It is almost never expressed plainly. What appears instead is implication and sequence. An invitation, a refusal, and then a change in how the person is treated.

The term comes from United States practice rather than Australian legislation, where the conduct falls within the general definition of sexual harassment and may also engage discrimination and general protections provisions.

The Australian Human Rights Commission sets out the legal test. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s sexual harassment course for managers and sexual harassment course.