'Do You Want a Lover Tonight?' Does this Question Constitute Sexual Harassment? Simmers v. Campbell Scientific Africa (Pty.) Ltd. (2014) 35 ILJ 2866 (LC); Campbell Scientific Africa (Pty.) Ltd. & A. Simmers Unreported Case CA 14/2014 (LAC) 23 October 2015

Abstract

This note critically evaluates the judgment of the Labour Court in Simmers v. Campbell Scientific Africa and that of the Labour Appeal Court in Campbell Scientific (Pty.) Ltd. & A. Simmers. In the (former) review, Simmers (S) was found not guilty of sexual harassment but of mere “sexual attention.” The author disagrees and argues that the review should have confirmed the award by relying on the sexual nature of the advances, the persistency of same, the impact of the conduct on the harassed person and circumstantial evidence. It must be stated that the Labour Court review had little information and, accordingly, it was sometimes difficult to interpret. In the latter the appeal was upheld and the review was dismissed by a full bench who confirmed S’ advances as sexual harassment and, particularly, expanded on the role of power disparity in sexual harassment cases, with which I agree.

Keywords: sexual harassment, sexual attention, sexual advances