Expert says employers can be found liable for sexual assault outside of work hours as PwC fights case

A Sydney graduate employee is suing PwC for damages over alleged sexual assault by a colleague after work hours, court documents show.A Sydney graduate employee is suing PwC for damages over alleged sexual assault by a colleague after work hours, court documents show.Employers can be found vicariously liable for alleged sexual assault that occurred between employees outside working hours but only where it was connected with their employment, according to a leading employment law expert.

The graduate employee is suing PwC for damages over two alleged incidents of sexual assault by a colleague after work hours, court documents show. It includes one claim that the young woman was raped at her home after she went to pubs with colleagues following a meeting held at PwC’s office.PwC is arguing it’s not liable because the alleged incidents were not connected to her or the alleged perpetrator’s role as a worker at the firm, and the graduate did not directly work with the accused.

Josh Bornstein, an employment lawyer at Maurice Blackburn who was not involved in the case and was speaking generally, said the question for the courts in such cases is whether the conduct has a “connection with the employment” of the employee. The New South Wales police conducted an investigation into the claims after a report was made last year, but no charges have been laid.

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