A Client or Supplier Is Harassing Our Employee: What Employers Must Do in the Philippines

The short answer: yes, act — and act now; the harasser not being your employee does not take you off the hook

When a client, supplier or other outsider harasses one of your employees, the company should step in immediately: remove the employee from contact first, then deal with the other party in writing, and then fix your own policies. 'They are a major client and we can't control them' is not a defence.

The general expectation in the Philippines is that employers prevent workplace harassment, have a way to receive and investigate complaints, and act on harassment they know about. The workplace is not limited to interactions between your own staff: harassment an employee experiences while dealing with clients, suppliers or visitors because of their job — including at the other party's premises, on business visits or in online communication — falls within the scope of work. The employer's general legal duties are in employer duties on workplace sexual harassment; this article covers only what to do when the harasser is an outsider.

The risk to the company runs both ways. Handle it weakly and the employee may resign or complain, exposing the company to liability for inaction and reputational damage. Overreact — for example by accusing the other party publicly before checking the facts — and you may end up in a dispute with a client or supplier. So follow an order: protect the employee, fix the facts, engage the other party in writing, adjust the relationship, repair your policies. Keep a written record of every step, and name one person internally who owns the matter from start to finish.

Speed matters more than perfection here. A quick, proportionate first response that protects the employee is far better than a perfect plan that arrives a week later, after the employee has already concluded that the company does not care.

The first 24 hours after a report: separate, record, and avoid three mistakes

On the day an employee reports, the priority is that they no longer have to face the other person alone. Establishing exactly what happened comes second.

First, separate them. Change the point of contact immediately and have another colleague or a manager take over that client or supplier. If the harassment happened at the other party's premises, stop the employee from making solo visits there. The change must be made to protect the employee; moving them to a backwater role because they reported would amount to retaliation. Second, record. With the employee's consent, have HR or a designated person take a written or oral account — dates, places, what was said or done, who was present — together with any messages or screenshots they kept, and explain who will see it.

Three things not to do: do not tell the employee to put up with it because the client is too important; do not forward the employee's account verbatim to the other company before you have checked it; and do not set up a face-to-face meeting for the employee and the harasser to 'clear the air'. Guidance the employee can use to protect themselves and preserve evidence is in what to do if you are harassed at work. If there are threats to personal safety or conduct that may be criminal, safety comes first: help the employee report to the police rather than burying it for the sake of business. Write down what you did and when, so the record shows the company responded promptly.

Engaging the other party: in writing, at the right level, facts and requests only

Take it to the other company's management or compliance lead rather than to the individual, in writing, stating facts and requests without labels or emotion.

A typical letter covers what happened, summarised without repeating explicit detail; what you have already done, such as changing the contact person and stopping solo visits; and what you are asking for — that they investigate and act, replace the individual on your account, ensure it does not recur, and reply in writing within a reasonable period. Attach only a summary of the necessary evidence and keep the originals yourself, to be shared through proper channels if needed. Before sending, make sure the affected employee knows and agrees to what information you will mention.

Their response determines what comes next. If they cooperate and replace the person, confirm the outcome in writing and file it. If they deflect or deny, consider suspending or ending the parts of the relationship that involve that individual. Check your contract for any code of conduct, anti-harassment or termination clauses you can rely on; if there are none, now is the time to add them. If a customer instead turns the tables and threatens to 'expose' you unless compensated, see a customer threatening to go public for compensation. Keep a log of every call and message with the other party, with dates, so the history is clear if things escalate.

If the relationship is managed by a senior person on your side, involve them early but keep the factual record in HR's hands. Commercial relationships create a natural temptation to soften the message; a clear division of roles stops that pressure from diluting what the employee was promised and keeps the response consistent.

Inside the company: verify, support the employee, prevent retaliation and re-traumatisation

Your power to investigate an outsider is limited — you cannot interview the other company's staff — but you can and should secure the facts on your side and make sure the affected employee gets real support.

Keep verification to your own side: speak to your staff who were present, retrieve your own CCTV and communications, and organise the messages the employee saved. Limit who knows, sharing only with those who need to, and have interview notes confirmed by the people interviewed. Do not ask the employee to retell the details again and again; one complete account plus any necessary follow-up is enough.

Practical support: allow leave or adjusted duties when needed and provide information about, and time for, psychological support — the follow-on questions about stress and leave are covered in sick leave for work-related anxiety or depression. State clearly that reporting will have no negative effect on appraisal, pay or role, and then make sure that is true. Check in regularly to confirm the outsider has not made contact through other channels. If the employee speaks about it on social media, do not rush to pressure them into deleting posts; talk first and deal with the substance. How to approach an employee's personal posts that draw the company into public controversy is in an employee's post pulls the company into a crisis. A short written summary of the support offered and accepted protects both the employee and the company.

Be careful with wording in internal emails and chats about the incident. Describe facts neutrally, avoid speculation about anyone's motives, and do not forward the employee's account beyond the people handling it. Internal messages are often requested later, and a careless line can cause harm to the employee and to the company's position.

Fix the system: put third-party harassment into policy, contracts and training

Many anti-harassment policies only cover conduct between employees. The most valuable result of an incident like this is closing that gap.

Policy: state in the employee handbook and anti-harassment policy that they cover clients, suppliers, visitors and contractors; say who employees can report to, what the company will do, and how people who report are protected. How to write a handbook that holds up and how to publish it properly is covered in writing an enforceable employee handbook. Contracts: in new or renewed client and supplier agreements, include a code of conduct and anti-harassment clause, with notice, replacement and termination mechanisms if their personnel breach it.

Operations: for roles involving solo site visits, late-evening contact or work at the other party's premises, set up a check-in or two-person rule, and give frontline staff a simple instruction that they may end a meeting, leave immediately and report if someone crosses the line, without worrying about losing the deal. Leadership: one clear message — the company would rather lose a client than leave an employee to absorb harassment alone — does a great deal for trust across the team. Review how the new arrangements are working at regular intervals rather than filing them away once written. Include the topic in onboarding, so new staff know the rules before they ever meet a client.

It is worth asking frontline staff directly where the gaps are. The people who visit clients and deal with suppliers every day usually know which situations feel risky long before management does, and their suggestions tend to be practical, cheap and easy to put in place quickly. A short anonymous survey after the policy update can confirm whether staff actually know how to use it.

Particular issues in Chinese-owned and foreign companies, and what Yixing can do

In Chinese-owned and foreign companies, cases like this tend to stall on two points: pressure from an important client relationship, and language and cultural differences that make the facts hard to state clearly. Neither is a reason not to act.

Where a Filipino employee is harassed by a Chinese client or partner, or the other way round, record the facts in writing in a language both sides understand precisely, and bring in an interpreter if needed so that phrases like 'it was only a joke' or 'cultural differences' do not blur what happened. When the affected employee is a foreign national, they may hesitate to report because their visa is tied to the company; say proactively that reporting will not affect their status or position. Employee-side articles in this series on related processes include preparing for a disciplinary hearing.

What Yixing can do: findings on harassment, criminal complaints and civil claims are handled by the relevant authorities and licensed lawyers. Yixing is a private consultancy, not a law firm, and cannot decide anything on any agency's behalf. We help Chinese-owned businesses in the Philippines put employment compliance documents in order — including bilingual anti-harassment policies, handbooks and related procedures — and handle visa and HR matters involving foreign staff; see Yixing compliance and retainer services. Yixing International Travel Agency is a Chinese-language business consultancy registered in Makati, Philippines, holding SEC Registration CS202009551, Bureau of Immigration Accreditation No. CA-202624381-1 (valid to 2027-06-30), DOLE accreditation and PRA accreditation. We are not affiliated with any government agency and promise no outcome. Consult a licensed lawyer for your specific case; this article is not legal advice.