Text he

Harassment, Bullying and Mutual Respect

Policy Statement

The company is committed to creating a harmonious and safe working environment which is free from harassment and bullying and in which every employee is treated with respect and dignity.

The company strives to ensure that the different experiences, abilities, and skills of each individual are valued by others. Inappropriate behaviour should be challenged. It is the company's intention to encourage everyone to always behave in a proper manner.

Harassment or bullying causes stress, anxiety and unhappiness to individuals, creates an unpleasant environment in which to work and may be unlawful. This can reduce efficiency and may ultimately have an impact on the way in which services are delivered to our customers.

For these reasons, it is important that the company as an employer, and individual employees, strive to achieve a working environment which is free from this type of behaviour.

You may be an individual or part of a group that receives unwanted attention. The harassment, bullying or victimisation may be a one-off incident, or it may be a series of incidents. Your dignity at work can be affected by inappropriate behaviour which causes offence, whether it is intentional or not.

The company is committed to ensuring that individuals do not feel apprehensive because of their race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin and caste); religion or belief; disability; sex; sexual orientation; pregnancy or maternity; gender reassignment; marriage or civil partnership and age; or as a result of being subjected to any inappropriate behaviour.

All employees can expect to: -

• be treated with dignity, respect, and courtesy;
• be able to work free from unfair treatment, bullying, harassment, or victimisation;
• be valued for their skills, abilities, and experiences.

All employees are expected to: -

• familiarise themselves with the content of this policy;
• treat all employees with dignity, respect, and courtesy;
• contribute towards a positive working culture;
• challenge or report unacceptable behaviour;
• be mindful of others when expressing views;
• cooperate with investigations into harassment and bullying.

Breaches of this policy may be considered unacceptable behaviour and be treated as misconduct which may include gross misconduct warranting dismissal in accordance with our disciplinary procedure. All employees must comply with this policy.

The company is committed to dealing with any issues quickly, positively, and confidentially when and if they occur. It is important to remember that while you may make comments outside of work, for example on social networking sites, the company may use such evidence in investigations on bullying and harassment matters.

Definition of Harassment

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a relevant characteristic set out in the Equality Act 2010 that violates a person's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. The protected characteristics are race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin and caste); religion or belief; disability; sex; sexual orientation; pregnancy or maternity; gender reassignment; marriage or civil partnership and age.

Harassment may take many forms. It can range from extreme forms such as violence to less obvious actions such as persistently ignoring someone. The following, though not an exhaustive list, may constitute harassment: -

• Verbal harassment — examples include crude language, offensive jokes, suggestive or insulting remarks, innuendoes, rude or vulgar comments, malicious gossip, banter, graffiti, and offensive songs linked to one of the protected characteristics (sex, race, religion, etc).
• Non-verbal harassment — examples include wolf-whistles, obscene gestures, sexually suggestive posters/calendars, pornographic material (both paper-based and generated on a computer, including offensive screensavers), graffiti, offensive letters, offensive emails, text messages on mobile phones and other posts on social media and offensive objects.
• Physical harassment — examples include unnecessary and unwanted touching, patting, pinching, or brushing against another employee’s body, assault, and physical coercion.
• Pressure for sexual favours (e.g. to get a job or promotion) or victimisation on account of the rejection of such pressure.
• Isolation or non-co-operation and exclusion from social activities for a reason related to sex, race, religion, etc.
• Intrusion — examples include stalking, pestering, spying, etc.

Employees may also be subject to harassment from third parties such as customers, suppliers, or the general public where interaction with those third parties is a part of their role.

Definition of Bullying

Bullying is repeated inappropriate, offensive behaviour which is often an abuse of power or position. It can be direct or indirect, either verbal, physical or otherwise, conducted by one or more persons against another or others in the course of employment, which could reasonably be regarded as undermining the individual’s right to dignity at work.

The following examples may constitute bullying: -

• Aggressive, intimidating, or threatening behaviour.
• Constant criticism, fault finding or undermining.
• Ignoring, excluding, or marginalising someone.
• Treating someone differently from everyone else.
• Shouting at someone.
• Humiliation or ridicule, whether about work or personal matters.
• Spreading rumours or gossip about someone in order to discredit them.
• Using malicious or insulting language or swear words.
• Overloading a subordinate with work or denying them work.
• Setting unreasonable targets and deadlines.
• Removing authority while increasing responsibility.
• Denial of annual leave, sickness, or compassionate leave.
• Unjustified disciplinary action.
• Pointing a finger at someone, invading personal space, shoving, blocking, or barring the way.
• Suggesting that someone should resign.
• Cyberbullying.

The above list is not exhaustive but meant as examples of what may be considered as bullying. It should be noted that it is the impact of the behaviour which is relevant and not the motive or intent behind it.

Mutual Respect

Mutal respect is expected from all employees.

Whilst we do not intend to make the act of swearing a disciplinary offence, we do not expect employees, at any level, to use such language in an aggressive, threatening, or abusive manner.

An employee who feels or is being treated in a manner which is aggressive, threatening, or abusive should take the matter up with their Line Manager.If it is your Line Manager involved, then the matter should be taken up with Human Resources.

Any form of bullying, intimidation or deliberately making a colleague’s time at work uncomfortable will not be tolerated by the company.It should be noted that it is the impact of the behaviour which is relevant and not the motive or intent behind it.

It is therefore the responsibility of individuals to ensure, at all times, that their behaviour cannot be considered discriminatory, aggressive, threatening, or abusive.

All employees have a responsibility to bring the issue to the attention of management if they witness any discriminatory, aggressive, threatening, or abusive behaviour towards another colleague so the matter can be investigated further.

Employees’ Responsibilities

Allemployees have a responsibility to help create and maintain a working environment that respects the dignity of employees. You should be aware of the serious and genuine problems which harassment and bullying can cause and ensure that your behaviour is beyond question and could not be considered in any way to be harassment or bullying. No one should practice or encourage such behaviour. You should also support colleagues where possible if they are experiencing harassment or bullying and are considering making a complaint.

You should alert your Line Manager to any incidents to enable the company to deal with the matter. If it is your Line Manager involved, then the matter should be taken up with Human Resources.

Managerial Responsibility

Managers have a responsibility to do what they can to ensure that harassment or bullying does not occur in work areas for which they are responsible. They are committed to the elimination of bullying and harassment and must be vigilant in preventing acts wherever possible. Managers also have a particular duty to set a proper example by treating everyone with dignity and respect and ensure that their behaviour sets the right example.

Managers also have a responsibility to explain the company’s policy to their staff and take steps to promote it positively. They will be responsive and supportive to any member of staff who makes a complaint, provide full and clear advice on the procedure to be adopted, maintain confidentiality in all cases as far as possible and ensure that there are no further problems or any victimisation after a complaint has been raised or resolved.

The company will provide training to ensure that all Managers and other staff are fully aware of this policy and the procedures for dealing with harassment and bullying.

Procedure for Dealing with Alleged Harassment or Bullying

Complaints can be made both formally and informally. Whichever route you decide to take, the decision will always be yours. You will be offered guidance and assistance at every stage to help you resolve the problem as soon as possible and to stop the harassment.

If you are comfortable doing so, in the first instance, ask the person responsible to stop the behaviour, explaining that you feel uncomfortable in the way they are acting towards you. Speaking directly to the person at an early stage will often be sufficient to stop the behaviour.

If you feel unable to do this, you may be able to ask your Line Manager to do this on your behalf. If it is your Line Manager involved, then the matter should be taken up with Human Resources.

If you decide to make a formal complaint, you should do so through the Grievance Procedure as soon as possible after the incident has occurred. All complaints will be handled in a timely manner and confidentiality will be maintained as far as possible. You will be guaranteed a fair and impartial hearing, and the matter will be investigated thoroughly. If the investigation reveals that your complaint is valid, prompt attention and action will be taken designed to stop the behaviour and prevent its recurrence.

You will be protected from intimidation, victimisation, or discrimination for filing a complaint or assisting in an investigation. Retaliating against an employee for complaining about harassment or bullying is a disciplinary offence and will be dealt with in accordance with our Disciplinary Procedure.

Whilst this procedure is designed to assist genuine victims of harassment or bullying, you should be aware that if you raise complaints which are proven to be deliberately vexatious, you may become subject to proceedings under the Disciplinary Procedure.

Further information on raising a grievance and the procedure to follow can be found under ‘Grievance Procedure’.

Procedure for Dealing with Alleged Harassment or Bullying from a Third Party

Any form of harassment towards you from third parties during your dealings with them will not be tolerated by the company.

We appreciate that a decision to report harassment from a third party may be difficult, particularly if the third party is a valuable customer or has a long-standing working relationship with the company. However, we encourage you to report any instance of harassment from a third party so that the company can take appropriate action.

You should follow the procedure set out above if you experience harassment from a third party, after which a meeting with you will be arranged and an investigation undertaken.

Our action, where a complaint is substantiated, will depend on the circumstances of the case, and may include: -

• Speaking with the harasser and warning them that any future occurrence of harassment will result in the company withdrawing provision of its services to the harasser.
• Contacting the harasser’s employer and making a complaint against them. We will explicitly ask for this conduct to stop, and we may require that the harasser is removed from our account.
• Refusing to continue to provide our services to the harasser.
• Reassigning the provision of the third party’s services to another employee.

re ...