Introduction
It is in the best interests of both the Organisation and staff to have a co-operative and respectful working environment. Although we aim to create a good workplace culture, the organisation recognises that inappropriate behaviour, including harassment, can and does take place.
The Organisation will not tolerate inappropriate behaviour towards any other person. Any allegations of a breach of this policy will be dealt with seriously and swiftly, with a view to obtaining a satisfactory resolution for all parties.
Identifying harassment
Harassment occurs when unwanted conduct violates the dignity of a member of staff on the grounds of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation (the protected characteristics); or where it creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Individual or accumulative acts can seriously undermine dignity, confidence and work satisfaction to such an extent that it has an effect on job performance, and general happiness both inside and outside work.
The Organisation’s position is that no employee should be subjected to any form of harassment at any time. It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that their words or actions do not cause offence to others in the workplace.
If you have experienced sexual harassment whilst in the workplace, or in connection to your work, please refer to the separate sexual harassment policy.
Identifying bullying
There is no legal definition of bullying and in reality, it can be similar to harassment in the effect that it may have on an individual, however, the focus of the behaviour need not be a protected characteristic.
It is likely to have a negative impact on the victim’s confidence, self-esteem and overall wellbeing. Bullying is not necessarily overt and can be done using a number of different methods. It may take place with colleagues in public or in private, at work or socially.
Identifying inappropriate behaviour
There is no definitive list of what constitutes inappropriate behaviour however, the Organisation expects all members of staff to treat all individuals, whether colleagues, customers or third parties, with dignity, respect and courtesy. The Organisation’s policy is that all staff will adopt a professional approach to all communications and behaviour during work hours, and at any work-related social events and any subsequent or follow-on events attended by members of staff.
Examples of what the Organisation deems inappropriate behaviour are listed below, however, this is not an exhaustive list, and the Organisation will consider all concerns of inappropriate behaviour on a case-by-case basis:
- shouting or swearing at someone
- persistent, excessive, unfair or unjustified criticism
- public humiliation and/or insults
- persistent devaluing of a person’s effort
- constant ignoring of opinions
- withholding necessary information without good reason so as to cause difficulty or embarrassment to an individual
- unjustified, excessive monitoring and/or supervision
- setting someone up to fail, eg setting a target/objective that cannot be achieved
- constant changing of targets for no justifiable reason
- unreasonably blocking requests for leave
- aggressive communications
- intimidating or threatening behaviour.
The Organisation recognises the importance of work-life balance and, while we do not intend to restrict your activities outside of working hours, it is important to remember that behaviour which results in adverse publicity to the Organisation, or which causes us to lose faith in your integrity, may give us grounds for your dismissal regardless of whether the behaviour occurs during or outside of working hours.
Preventing inappropriate behaviour
All staff are responsible for discouraging inappropriate behaviour and preventing it from taking place. This can be done by:
- keeping in mind the problems that inappropriate behaviour can cause, and monitoring our own behaviour to ensure that others do not feel our words or actions are inappropriate
- informing managers when an individual becomes aware certain conduct or behaviour is causing concern or offence to yourself or others
- understanding internal policies and the Organisation’s stance on what behaviour is classed as inappropriate.
Managers and team leaders have a particular responsibility to prevent inappropriate behaviour taking place and to promote a professional and positive workplace culture by:
- being alert to the possibility that inappropriate behaviour may be happening in their area
- periodically reminding staff of the Organisation policy and stance on this matter
- using their judgement to correct behaviour that could be considered offensive, and reminding employees of organisational policy on this matter
- taking prompt action to stop inappropriate behaviour as soon as it is identified
- dealing with all incidents quickly, seriously, sensitively and in confidence.
Addressing inappropriate behaviour
The Organisation will address all complaints of inappropriate behaviour swiftly, fairly, sensitively and in complete confidence.
If you decide, you can deal with the inappropriate behaviour informally, eg if the act concerned is relatively minor, isolated or clearly unintentional. In these situations it is possible that the matter can be resolved immediately by letting the alleged perpetrator know that the behaviour in question is unacceptable to you and should be avoided in future.
The Organisation’s grievance procedure may be used if the informal approach fails to resolve the problem. Any employee found to have engaged in bullying or harassment will be dealt with under the Organisation’s disciplinary procedure. Complaints concerning matters of harassment or bullying will be dealt with under the Organisation’s anti-harassment and bullying policy. Complaints concerning matters of sexual harassment will be dealt with under the Organisation’s sexual harassment policy.