Workplace Harassment Policy for Restaurant Kitchens

Kitchens are hot, loud, cramped and hierarchical. Service is fast, tempers run short, and senior chefs hold real power over juniors' careers. Those conditions make harassment more likely and harder to report. A written policy will not fix a bad culture by itself, but without one you have no shared standard, no reporting route and, in several countries, a weaker legal position.

This guide explains what a harassment policy for a restaurant kitchen should contain, and gives verified examples of legal duties in the US, UK, Australia and Japan. It does not cover every country. Where we could not confirm the current position from an official source, we say so.

1. Why kitchens need their own policy

Generic office policies miss the situations that actually arise in restaurants:

• Shouting and personal insults during service, excused as "kitchen culture".
• Physical contact in tight spaces, and "jokes" about it.
• Harassment from guests toward front of house staff, and sometimes toward chefs at an open counter.
• After-work drinking where the hierarchy continues but the rules seem not to.
• Comments about accent, nationality or religion in a mixed team.
• Staff living in employer housing, where work and private life overlap.

The policy should name these situations so nobody can claim they did not know they were covered.

2. What the law requires: verified examples

These examples were checked against official sources in September 2026. They are not a complete statement of the law in any country.

United States

• Federal law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says harassment is unlawful when it is based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, transgender status or pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information, and either becomes a condition of employment or is severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment. For most of these characteristics, private employers are covered if they have 15 or more employees (20 or more for age), counting those who worked for at least twenty calendar weeks. State and city laws often cover smaller employers.
• California. Government Code section 12950.1 requires employers with five or more employees to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to supervisors and one hour to non-supervisory employees in California, once every two years. New non-supervisory employees must be trained within six months of hire, and new supervisors within six months of taking the role. The Civil Rights Department offers free online courses.
• New York State. The state says its sexual harassment prevention law applies to all employers in New York State, including New York City, regardless of size. Employers must give employees a written policy at hiring and at each annual training, and must train every employee at least once a year with interactive training. The state's model materials have been available in Japanese since 31 May 2023.

United Kingdom

• Duty to prevent sexual harassment. Section 40A of the Equality Act 2010, in force since 26 October 2024, says an employer must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of its employees in the course of their employment. It is enforceable by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and through a compensation uplift in employment tribunal cases.
• Changes not yet in force. The Employment Rights Act 2025 amends these provisions, including a change to section 40A(1) and new provisions on harassment by third parties such as customers. As of 22 September 2026, legislation.gov.uk lists these amendments as not yet in force. Watch for commencement.

Australia

• The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 contains, in Part IIA, section 47C, a "duty to eliminate unlawful sex discrimination etc." that applies to employers. The Australian Human Rights Commission publishes guidance on meeting it.

Japan

• Japanese law applies to employment in Japan, not to your restaurant abroad, but it shapes what chefs and head offices from Japan expect. Employers in Japan have had a legal duty to take measures against power harassment (パワーハラスメント) since 1 June 2020 for large companies and 1 April 2022 for small and medium ones. An amendment promulgated on 11 June 2025 makes measures against customer harassment (カスタマーハラスメント) and sexual harassment of job seekers mandatory from 1 October 2026, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Singapore and other countries

We could not confirm the current statutory position for Singapore from an official source during this update. The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) provides advice to employers on workplace harassment. For other countries, check with the labour ministry or equality body before finalising your policy.

3. What the policy should contain

Keep it short enough that staff read it. Two pages is plenty. Publish it in every language your staff use, including Japanese.

1. A plain statement that harassment, bullying and discrimination are not tolerated from anyone: owners, chefs, staff, suppliers or guests.
2. Definitions with kitchen examples. Sexual harassment, harassment related to protected characteristics, bullying and abuse of authority. Give examples from a kitchen, not an office.
3. Who it covers and where. Work premises, staff housing, staff events, group chats and social media.
4. How to report. At least two routes, one of which does not go through the head chef. A named person, a phone number or email, and an option to report in Japanese.
5. What happens next. How complaints are investigated, typical timescales, and what support is offered.
6. No retaliation. A clear promise that nobody will be punished for reporting in good faith or for helping an investigation.
7. Consequences. That breaches lead to disciplinary action up to dismissal, and that guests who harass staff will be asked to leave.
8. Training and review. When staff will be trained (on starting and at least yearly) and when the policy will be reviewed.

4. Kitchen situations to cover explicitly

• Correcting during service. Short, work related instructions are fine. Insults, throwing things, and comments about a person's intelligence, body, nationality or accent are not. See cross-cultural kitchen management for feedback rules.
• Physical contact. Say "behind" and "corner", not a hand on the back. No contact beyond what safety requires.
• Guests. What counter chefs and servers should do when a guest makes sexual comments, and who takes over.
• Drinking and staff events. The policy still applies. Nobody is pressured to drink or to stay.
• Staff housing. Rules on privacy, visitors and who has keys. See staff housing for restaurants.
• Group chats. Work chats are covered. Images and jokes that would be unacceptable in the kitchen are unacceptable there.

5. Handling a complaint

1. Take it seriously and act quickly. Acknowledge the complaint in writing and agree next steps with the person who raised it.
2. Separate the people involved where needed, by changing shifts or stations, without disadvantaging the person who complained.
3. Investigate fairly. Hear both sides and any witnesses. Use an interpreter where either person is more comfortable in Japanese or another language. In a small restaurant, consider an outside HR adviser, especially if the complaint concerns the owner or head chef.
4. Record everything: dates, statements, decisions, reasons.
5. Decide and communicate. Tell both parties the outcome to the extent you can, and the reasons.
6. Follow up weeks later to check the behaviour has stopped and there has been no retaliation.

6. Briefing chefs from Japan

A chef hired from Japan needs to understand that local law and your policy apply, whatever was normal in kitchens they trained in. Brief them in Japanese, before arrival if possible, as part of onboarding:

• Go through the policy together, with real examples of what is and is not acceptable during service.
• Explain that the law in the country, not the kitchen hierarchy, decides what counts as harassment.
• Make sure they also know how to report harassment directed at them. Chefs from abroad can be targets too, including of comments about their nationality.
• If they will supervise staff, include them in supervisor training where it is required, such as in California.

A clear policy, applied the same way to a star chef as to a kitchen porter, protects your staff and your business. It also helps retention: people stay where they feel safe to work.

General information, not legal advice. Harassment law differs by country, state and city, and changes often. Take local legal advice when writing your policy or handling a complaint.