This thesis examines the issue of customer sexual harassment (CSH) experienced by frontline
service workers in Scotland’s hospitality sector. Sexual harassment (SH) is understood as
unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature directed towards an individual; in this context, the
individuals are customer-facing hospitality workers. The study explores the prevalence of CSH,
analyses its impact on workers, and investigates how line managers respond to customerperpetrated incidents. It also considers how human resource practitioners (HRPs) support both
workers and managers in managing customer abuse.
Adopting a holistic, multi-stakeholder perspective, the research draws on qualitative data from
44 semi-structured interviews with frontline service workers, line managers, internal and
external HRPs, hospitality trade union representatives, and an industry representative. Findings
indicate that legally defined forms of SH by customers were prevalent across all nine
participating establishments. The study further reveals that both workers and managers
interpret incidents through a personal “interpretive prism”, leading to hierarchical assessments
of seriousness. Individual interpretation and perceived customer “sovereignty” contribute to
underreporting by workers, heightening managerial caution in addressing customer
misconduct. The research also identifies significant shortcomings in training for frontline
workers regarding the nature of SH and strategies for managing abusive customers. Weak
communication between line managers and HRPs left HR staff largely unaware of the extent
of customer abuse. Additionally, the findings suggest that both managerial groups displayed
only a perfunctory concern for workers' well-being in the context of customer mistreatment.
Four key contributions emerge from this study. First, it demonstrates the interpretive prism's
centrality in shaping how individuals evaluate incidents of CSH on a hierarchical scale. Second,
it highlights managerial caution in navigating perceived customer power as a barrier to
proactive intervention. Third, it identifies “perfunctory concern” by line managers and HRPs
concerning worker well-being when addressing customer misbehaviour and abuse. Fourthly,
regarding CSH, it shows that the worker-line manager-HR triangle has inherent communication
weaknesses, with HR being a distant partner in the triad.
| Date of Award | 11 May 2026 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Sponsors | University of Strathclyde |
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| Supervisor | Tasos Hadjisolomou (Supervisor) & Dennis Nickson (Supervisor) |
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