Sexual harassment and sexual assault at work: exploring legal and HR blind spots

Work-related sexual harassment is rarely recognised as gender-based violence and is often minimised as an occupational hazard or unfavourable treatment, even when it involves unwanted physical contact that would constitute sexual assault outside the workplace.

Legislative responses reflect this fragmentation, with workplace sexual harassment falling into civil employment law and the employment tribunal system rather than the criminal justice system, where complaints of gender-based violence outside of the workplace are likely to be heard. Responsibility for prevention and response usually falls to Human Resource managers who, while trained in employment law, may lack the expertise to recognise when harassment becomes sexual assault. Trade union representatives, where present, often provide partial support, focusing on procedures rather than survivor-centred, trauma-informed safeguarding. Consequently, such cases may be handled through inappropriate grievance and disciplinary processes, with limited sanctions for third-party perpetrators and remedies that have historically included non-disclosure agreements that silence victims and may push them out of employment.

We are looking to appoint a PhD student to research the legal, HR policy and practice 'blind spot' when sexual harassment at work crosses the boundary to sexual assault. The candidate will have relevant legal and/or HR qualifications and an interest in researching gender-based violence at work with a mix of methods including documentary analysis (eg court reports, police reports, sexual harassment policies) and interviews (eg with HR managers, women's group, rape crisis, trade unions and, possibly, survivors). The research will focus on the UK, though proposals adopting a comparative perspective are welcome.

For an informal discussion about the studentship, please email Dr Pawel Capik at pawel.capik@uwe.ac.uk.

For an informal discussion about the project, please email Dr Stefano Gasparri at Stefano.Gasparri@uwe.ac.uk.

About the College

College of Business and Law is a host to lively and challenging PhD programme. Students benefit from its modern facilities and a welcoming research environment comprising diverse research groups and centres. 

The studentship reflects ongoing commitment of the College of Business and Law at UWE Bristol to the development of its doctoral programmes. 

Doctoral students at the College benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from UWE Bristol's Doctoral Academy, including extensive professional development programme, research skills training and careers advice.

This fully-funded studentship is available from 1 October 2026 for a period of three years, subject to satisfactory progress and includes a tax-exempt stipend, which is currently £21,805 (2025/26) per annum.

In addition, full-time tuition fees will be covered for up to three years (Home/International).

Applicants must have at least 2.1 degree in human resources management, criminal or employment law, criminology or a cognate discipline, and preferably Masters degree (with average programme mark of no less than 65%, UK grading scale or international equivalent).

A recognised English language qualification is required. IELTS score of 7.0 overall, or equivalent.

Please submit your application online via the Postgraduate Research: Bristol Business School course. When prompted use the reference number 2627-OCT-CBL02. 

Application deadline

The closing date for applications is 16 August 2026.

Apply now

Supporting documentation

You will need to upload your research proposal, all your degree certificates and transcripts and your proof of English language proficiency.

Prepare your research proposal

• No more than 5 pages all-inclusive
• Font size 11
• 1.5-spacing
• 2-inch margins

Indicative contents: research context and rationale, brief literature review, research focus (objectives/research questions), proposed methodology and expected contribution of the project.

Development of research proposal should happen in consultation with the potential supervisor. You should contact the potential supervisor with an advanced draft of the proposal to confirm they are willing to support your application.

Referees

You will need to provide details of two referees as part of your application. A least one referee must be an academic referee from the institution that conferred your highest degree. Your referee will be asked for a reference at the time you submit your application, so please ensure that your nominated referees are willing and able to provide references within 14 days of your application being submitted.

Interview dates

It is expected that interviews will take place in late-August. If you have not heard from us by the 1 September 2026, we thank you for your application but on this occasion you have not been successful.