Employment law
Workplace harassment: protecting the victim and the whistleblower
A call-centre agent asks to see the HR manager, eyes lowered. For weeks, her supervisor has been commenting on her appearance and sending her messages in the evening. She has no written proof, only deleted screenshots and a colleague who "heard things". What the company does over the next few days will decide what follows: for her, for the supervisor, and for the company itself.
Our fictional running case: Bamako Call Services, a call centre with 80 employees, including 60 agents managed by 8 supervisors.
1. What exactly are we talking about?
Psychological harassment means repeated conduct that degrades an employee's working conditions: humiliation, belittling, isolation. Sexual harassment means unwanted remarks or behaviour of a sexual nature, or pressure to obtain sexual favours.
Important point: the Malian Labour Code does not define harassment and has no specific regime on the subject. The company therefore acts with the Code's general tools (discipline, safety, protection against wrongful dismissal). The criminal side falls under the Criminal Code enacted by Law No. 2024-027 of 13 December 2024: the legal qualification of the facts should be checked with a lawyer.
Silence protects the perpetrator. Action protects the victim, and the company with her.
2. What Malian labour law already provides
| Objective | Tool provided by the Code |
|---|---|
| Prohibit and sanction | The internal rules set disciplinary rules |
| Protect employees' health | The employer is responsible for applying health and safety measures |
| Prevent discriminatory decisions | Any distinction based, among other things, on sex that impairs equal treatment in employment is discrimination |
| Protect against unfair dismissal | A dismissal without a legitimate ground or on an inaccurate ground is wrongful |
| Bring facts to light | Employees may present their own grievances; delegates may refer matters to the labour inspector |
Internal rules are limited to the technical organisation of work, discipline, health and safety, and salary payment: a ban on harassment belongs there under discipline. Labour Code, article L.64
The employer is responsible for applying health and safety measures (article L.172). Discrimination based on sex in employment is prohibited. Labour Code, article L.4 See also Equality at work.
What you need to do
- Include the ban on psychological and sexual harassment in the internal rules, with the sanctions incurred.
- Tell all employees about the reporting channel.
3. Protecting the person who reports
Sanctioning or dismissing an employee because she reported harassment relies on a ground that is not legitimate. A dismissal without a legitimate ground, or on an inaccurate ground, is wrongful; if challenged, the employer must prove a legitimate ground. Labour Code, article L.51
The most common mistake
Treating as misconduct a report the investigation did not confirm. An employee who reports in good faith, without complete proof, has done nothing wrong: requiring proof before any report amounts to banning reports. Only an accusation its author knew to be false, made to cause harm, can justify a sanction, and that must be shown.
What retaliation costs
Example. Bamako Call Services dismisses the agent, paid XOF 150,000 a month with 2 years' seniority, for "disrupting the team" since her report. The court finds the dismissal wrongful and sets damages, for the sake of the example, at XOF 900,000.
Notice payment (1 month, absent a collective agreement): XOF 150,000 Severance pay: 150,000 × 20% × 2 = XOF 60,000 Damages (assumption): XOF 900,000 Total: 150,000 + 60,000 + 900,000 = XOF 1,110,000
What you need to do
- Take no adverse measure against the person who reports, or against witnesses.
- Never move the victim against her will to "settle" the situation.
4. Conducting an internal investigation
- Act quickly: open the investigation within days of the report.
- Protect without prejudging: separate the people involved if needed, without the measure falling on the victim.
- Hear each person separately, victim, accused and witnesses, and have a signed record made.
- Collect material evidence: messages, letters, schedules, written statements.
- Conclude with a reasoned decision, communicated to the person who reported.
If the accused must be removed during the investigation, a disciplinary lay-off is limited to eight days and suspends pay. Labour Code, article L.34 Beyond that, a temporary reassignment or paid leave from duties is safer.
5. Sanctioning the perpetrator
If the facts are established, the employer applies the scale of sanctions in the internal rules. A dismissal is notified in writing with its ground, and the labour inspector is informed by registered letter (article L.40). Depending on seriousness, the court may find gross misconduct, which removes notice and severance pay.
If the perpetrator is a staff delegate, dismissal requires the labour inspector's prior authorisation (article L.277).
A criminal complaint is a separate route, which belongs first to the victim. Disciplinary proceedings and criminal prosecution are independent: the company need not wait for the criminal outcome to sanction facts it has established itself.
What you need to do
- Base the sanction on dated, documented facts.
- Tell the victim she may file a complaint, without pressing her to do so.
6. Organising prevention
| Element | Content |
|---|---|
| A written ban | In the internal rules, under discipline |
| A reporting channel | Whom to contact, by what means, with what confidentiality |
| Effective handling | A documented investigation and a reasoned decision |
| The delegates' role | They present grievances and may refer matters to the labour inspector |
Staff delegates present grievances about working conditions and employee protection to the employer, and may refer matters to the labour inspector. Labour Code, article L.278 Each employee also remains free to present their own grievances (article L.279). See Internal rules.
A closer look: rules from elsewhere
Many guides state that any sanction against an employee who reports harassment is "automatically void", or that protection applies "except in bad faith". These rules come from the French Labour Code and French case law. The Malian Labour Code does not adopt them. In Mali, protection works through the wrongful dismissal regime and the ban on discrimination: it is real, but it mainly takes the form of damages.
Key takeaways in 6 points
- Ban psychological and sexual harassment in the internal rules.
- Open a written investigation promptly after any report.
- Take no adverse measure against a person who reports in good faith.
- Limit any lay-off of the accused to eight days.
- Sanction the perpetrator on established facts, following the dismissal procedure.
- Have a lawyer check the criminal qualification of the facts.