Social media or in-store communication about appropriate customer behavior is being weighed up by the franchise chain as part of an overhaul of practices.
The move comes after an investigation by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission into whether Bakers Delight was following the state’s laws that give employers a positive duty to stop sexual harassment in workplaces.
Bosses say while the inquiry related to only Victorian legislation, the company will look at improving anti-sexual harassment training for staff and potential franchisees across Australia.
The commission said its investigation was not triggered by a specific complaint against Bakers Delight.
It selected the company because the retail sector is a high-risk industry for sexual harassment.
The commission reported Bakers Delight lacked a central register to log complaints and did not have a sexual harassment prevention plan.
Staff had not been trained in how to stop sexual harassment.
Following the commission’s findings, Bakers Delight said it was considering a shake-up of its messaging in stores or on social media to meet our obligations under the Equal Opportunity Act.
“Our bakeries should be a happy and safe environment for everyone to work in, so partnering with the commission on this investigation has allowed us to identify a number proactive measures we can implement right now to ensure this continues to be the case well into the future ,” joint CEO Elise Gillespie said.
“We all have a responsibility for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace and we are confident the recommendations in this report will go a long way towards helping other Victorian retail and franchise businesses to comply with their positive duty to create safer, more respectful workplaces.”
The positive duty legislation is unique to Victoria but the federal government has pledged to adopt it as part of a national overhaul of workplace safety.