The admission of Gary Ballance regarding the making of inappropriate comments to his former colleague, Azeem Rafiq, has had implications that have rocked this long-established cricket club.

The situation was compounded as the club carried out its own internal investigation and found that there was no conduct or action taken by any of its employee, players or executives that warranted disciplinary action. This was despite a number of allegations made being upheld.

The outcome has been that many of Yorkshire Cricket Club’s sponsors have severed links with the club and there have been call from many, including Julian Knight MP, Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for the Board to resign.

There are a number of issues here. Firstly, the situation should never have arisen in the first place. The conduct, which would inevitably have been witnessed by others should have been addressed and stopped immediately. However, the situation should never have been allowed to develop in the first instance. Creating a work culture which promotes equality and diversity, free from harassment must be in place and any employer must ensure that this culture is fully embraced by all as a starting point. If you achieve this then the further problems of bullying and harassment simply will not arise. What has historically been termed as “Banter” is not acceptable. The reputation of the club has been seriously tarnished, with Azeem Rafiq and officials of the club now being called before Parliament. The ECB are being pressed to take action.

Now imagine if this was your business. Look at your culture and promote equality and diversity through policies, procedures and positive reinforcement. Ongoing training and the cascading of the principles of the required culture must be instilled in all employees. If a situation does arise, don’t bury your head in the sand, but address it head on and limit the damage if you can. It may already be too late, but if you have taken all reasonable steps to avoid this problem, you may have provided yourself with a defence to any claim. Failure to act could lead to a claim for discrimination and/harassment which can be unlimited in terms of an award from an Employment Tribunal.

If you need any advice or guidance on how your business may address theses issues, please contact me on PB@nexussolicitors.co.uk