Can you report someone anonymously to HR?

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this question, but here goes.

I'm a new graduate in HR, and have been working for a small company. A fellow new grad is having a problem with her supervisor, who has been harassing her and making comments that are inappropriate. She is currently on FMLA leave because of this. Her supervisor has been reprimanded and is supposed to be fired, but has been hired by the company for several months.

The employee is in a protected class (Hispanic), and her supervisor has stated that it is not an issue to bring her manager to HR, since she is a woman. She also said that she should be able to report the harassment anonymously, as she does not want her boss to find out. Is this possible?

If it's not okay to report the harassment, then why is she still on leave? Maybe you could ask her why she thinks it's not okay to report the harassment, and if she doesn't have a good reason, then you can help her figure that out. Thanks, Ira. The employee has been on leave for almost a year now. The supervisor has been let go, but is now the manager of the department. The employee is afraid that if she reports, her supervisor will tell her boss that she reported her. She has no proof that her supervisor harassed her. Can you still report anonymous harassment to HR? Thanks again.

I can understand that. Unfortunately, when we first start working with companies, we learn the hard way that no matter what we say to supervisors or managers, they feel like they can get away with anything. They also often refuse to admit their wrongdoing. So, it's best to wait until you know the facts before trying to report the harassment. You never know how the situation will change. If your coworker does not want to work at the company, that might be a good indication that she does not want the problem solved.

HR won't tell the boss or anyone else about what you did, but you can make sure to keep the file safe, so you can refer back to it if needed. HR can make copies of the file if you want.

I would not suggest reporting the boss, but I would report the harassment. There are reasons you may not want the boss to know you were the one that reported it, but it's possible your supervisor would tell the boss.

Are anonymous complaints taken seriously?

The complaint about the sexist photo appeared on the Facebook page of the website The Local and was flagged up to the Press Complaints Commission.

It claimed: This is in no way an official photograph and it is being made fun of, with the women at the top of the stairs wearing ridiculous clothes. This is not a serious political party. I would be very disappointed if any money or time is spent on this.

Ms Dinsmore said she had been told the image was not a legitimate one, but had no idea who made it or what it was intended to represent. The Local agreed not to use the image again and apologised. What has happened since is that my complaint to the PCC has been refused and I now am going to have to go to the courts, Ms Dinsmore told The Independent. I think there are hundreds of pictures on Facebook and Twitter where girls have got their arms out and a line of boys are taking pictures of them in a sex-mad way, she added. I think it is absolutely disgraceful that there is such a lack of control over what people are doing.

As a parent of three young children I don't want them to be subjected to seeing things like that all day every day. The PCC told the London Evening Standard it could not comment. A spokesman for The Local said: We can confirm that this image is a fake and does not depict the Labour party, who will be very disappointed to see its name used in such a manner. We have taken the matter seriously and have apologised to this individual for the confusion caused.