1.  Please describe whether there is any legal regulation (laws or collective bargaining agreements) or other measures in this jurisdiction which prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace, and since when has the prohibition been in force?
  2. Are employers in this jurisdiction required to take pro-active action to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?
  3. Did the #MeToo movement have a noticeable impact on the number of harassment claims against your employer clients when it first began in October 2017 and has the position changed since then?
  4. What legal remedies are in place to resolve or compensate for workplace sexual harassment in this jurisdiction? 
  5. On a traffic light red/amber/green scale, how high a priority is tackling sexual harassment for clients in this jurisdiction?
  6. Any other relevant information on workplace harassment?
  7. Are you aware of any sectors which have been particularly affected by, or concerned with, harassment? For example, where reports of complaints are high, or the media have exposed an issue, or regulators are taking action?

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Hungary
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Based on Article 7(1) of Act I of 2012 on the Labour Code (the 'Labour Code'), the abuse of rights is prohibited. For the purposes of the Labour Code, abuse of rights occurs in particular when it is intended to prejudice the legitimate interests of others, restrict their opportunities to assert their interests, harass, suppress the expression of one’s opinion, or lead to such abuse. Furthermore, based on Article 51(4) of the Labour Code, the employer must ensure that the requirements for safe and healthy working conditions are met.

According to Article 7(1) of Act CXXV of 2003 on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equal Opportunities (the 'Equal Treatment Act'), the requirements of equal treatment are breached by harassment. Since 1 January 2007, harassment is defined in Article 10(1) of the Equal Treatment Act as conduct of a sexual or other nature that is offensive to human dignity. The harassment must also be related to one of the characteristics of the person concerned, as set out in Article 8 of the Equal Treatment Act, and must have the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating, degrading, or offensive environment towards the person concerned. Article 8 of the Equal Treatment Act lists several characteristics to which sexual or other conduct may be related, including, among others: the person’s (i) sex, (ii) marital status, (iii) maternity (pregnancy) or paternity, (iv) sexual orientation, (v) gender identity, (vi) any other status, qualification, or characteristic.

In addition to these, Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code also prohibits sexual and all forms of harassment.

2. Are employers in this jurisdiction required to take pro-active action to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?

As mentioned above, the employer must ensure that the requirements for safe and healthy working conditions are met. Compliance with the requirement of a healthy and safe working environment does not only mean adhering to occupational health and safety standards in the general sense, but also ensuring that employees are not forced to work in a toxic, abusive environment.

3. Did the #MeToo movement have a noticeable impact on the number of harassment claims against your employer clients when it first began in October 2017 and has the position changed since then?

No, there have been no reports of an impact on the number of harassment claims against our employer clients as a result of the #MeToo movement.

In the event of abuse of rights, the employee concerned has the possibility to go to court and pursue an employment claim. In enforcing an employment claim based on a violation of the prohibition of abuse of rights, the claimant must prove the fact or circumstance giving rise to the violation and the harm, while the person exercising the right must prove that there is no causal link between the fact or circumstance proved by the claimant and the harm.

In the event of harassment, the impacted employee also has the right to complain to the Office of The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary. However, in this case, it is not the harasser who is 'held liable' in the proceedings, but the employer (even if the employer is not the perpetrator of the unlawful conduct), given the personal scope of the Equal Treatment Act. In addition, the employer is entitled to investigate the case and impose sanctions under the Labour Code on the harasser. Although the Equal Treatment Act does not specify the concrete steps to be taken in a case of harassment, practice shows that an internal investigation, a hearing of both the impacted party and the harasser, and the application of appropriate sanctions by the employer may be justified. The employer’s failure to act may also, where appropriate, establish their liability for harassment. The employer may give the harasser a warning, apply detrimental legal consequences in accordance with the Labour Code (typically financial consequences), or terminate the employment relationship. 

5. On a traffic light red/amber/green scale, how high a priority is tackling sexual harassment for clients in this jurisdiction?

Amber.  

6. Any other relevant information on workplace harassment?

Workplace harassment cases, according to our professional experiences, show a slightly increasing trend.

7. Are you aware of any sectors which have been particularly affected by, or concerned with, harassment? For example, where reports of complaints are high, or the media have exposed an issue, or regulators are taking action?

No specific sectors have been particularly affected by or concerned with harassment. However, we experience a slightly higher rate in SSCs.