A recent report by women’s rights organisation, the Fawcett Society, found that 41% of UK lap dancing clubs are targeting corporate clients through marketing on their websites and 86% of London clubs provide 'discreet receipts' to customers allowing employees to claim expenses for 'team visits' and client entertainment at these venues. The report suggests that this trend is partly fuelled by the way these clubs market themselves as ideal venues to host meetings and for client entertaining.

The report argues that use of lap dancing clubs for corporate / client entertainment is undermining women's status at work and violates the UK's Sex Discrimination Act. Female employees feel excluded from entertainment if it takes place at a sex industry venue catering to men. They may not be invited along by male colleagues, may not wish to go in any event, and may feel deeply uncomfortable if they do decide to attend, or in saying that they don't want to.

Women are already in the minority in the City - being excluded from big nights out with clients and contacts only serves to emphasise their 'difference', and disadvantages them in terms of building key relationships and contacts. There is also the more fundamental point that employers are paying for what Fawcett refers to as 'a form of commercial sexual exploitation', which 'fuels sexist attitudes towards women'. Should this sort of entertainment really be endorsed and paid for by organisations which claim to be promoting equality and respect for women at work ?

We've been told that many employers in the City have now banned staff from 'adult entertainment' clubs, and that the real reason lapdancing club business is booming is custom from laid-off bankers. But if clubs in the City are directing their marketing activities at corporate clients, and include providing receipts without indicating the nature of the entertainment paid for, this tells a different story.

We know anecdotally that visits to strip clubs still form a part of client entertainment in the financial services industry. It may happen after dinner and drinks, when female colleagues head home, but it's something that the women in the team are aware of, and which their male colleagues often do not seek to hide.

And if City employers are serious about putting an end to this sort of team / client night out, they need to take active steps to enforce their policies on it. A failure to do so could mean they are vulnerable to sex discrimination claims. Their approach should involve closer scrutiny of expense claims which don't indicate the nature of the entertainment paid for. Even where employers have a ban on providing this sort of entertainment to clients, they also need to consider the sort of entertainment they allow their employees to accept from others, such as clients.

Communication of the policy and the message behind it along with taking appropriate action where it is breached are also important. Harriet Harman, the Minister for Women and Equality, has also indicated her intention to cut tax relief on such expense claims, which is likely to have an impact on the way they are monitored. Good equal opportunities practice also requires businesses to consider positive and inclusive client or team events. Many women attend traditional golf days and rugby matches so as not to be excluded, but would they choose to do these activities in their own time ?

But the issues are never black and white. Fawcett's recent report focuses on the rights of women who work in the corporate sector. But what about the women who work in the clubs ? Fawcett has also run campaigns highlighting concerns about their treatment. Nevertheless, it's how they earn their living. Could a clampdown on corporate visits to lap dancing clubs mean significant job losses and hardship for these women ?

Ultimately, if employers are making the right moves to ensure that employees do not use lap dancing clubs for client or team entertainment, then this needs to be followed through with all the appropriate steps to make sure that this isn't just a tick-box exercise, but a meaningful attempt to discourage employees from falling foul of the Sex Discrimination Act.

Claire Dawson, Employment Solicitor, Russell Jones & Walker

http://www.rjw.co.uk/

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