Introduction
The Group recognises the right of all employees to be treated with respect and dignity and is committed to the development of positive policies for the elimination of all kinds of harassment and bullying. Harassment or bullying at work in any form is unacceptable and will not be permitted or condoned.
Harassment related to age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation is unlawful. Both the harasser and company may be held liable for this conduct. Harassment may also be a criminal offence and give rise to a civil claim. It may also contravene health and safety legislation.
Harassment and bullying can reduce the effectiveness of a company by undermining the confidence of employees and increasing sickness absence and staff turnover. Employees have the right to work in an environment free from harassment, bullying and any other type of intimidation.
This policy applies to all employees and workers working for the Group (including managers, directors, agency workers, and contractors).
This harassment policy is not contractual but informs individuals of the types of behaviour that are unacceptable and provides employees who are the victims of harassment or bullying with a means of redress. The Group may amend the policy from time to time when it considers it appropriate to do so.
The Group will treat allegations of harassment or bullying seriously. Anyone found to be in breach of this policy will be liable to disciplinary action which could result in their dismissal.
What is harassment?
Harassment takes many forms, occurs on a variety of different grounds and can be directed at one person or many people. Harassment is conduct that it is unwanted by the recipient and which the recipient finds offensive or unacceptable. It can include unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct. It can also include circulating information or images via e-mail or the internet. Conduct can be harassment even if it was not intended to violate the recipient’s dignity if it has that effect.
Conduct normally becomes harassment if it is persisted in once it has been made clear that it is regarded by the recipient as offensive, although a single incident may amount to harassment if it is sufficiently serious.
Unlawful harassment may involve conduct of a sexual nature (sexual harassment), or it may be related to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. It may also include victimising someone because they have been willing to challenge harassment. Harassment is unacceptable even if it does not fall within any of these categories.
Harassment may include, for example:
A person may be harassed even if they were not the intended “target”. For example, a person may be harassed by racist jokes about a different ethnic group if the jokes create an offensive environment.
What is bullying?
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. It can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. Bullying may include, by way of example:
Legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of a worker’s performance or behaviour, or reasonable instructions given to workers in the course of their employment, will not amount to bullying on their own.
Employees’ responsibilities
You have a responsibility to help ensure that the dignity of all employees is respected in the work environment. Everyone must comply with this policy and you should ensure that your behaviour to colleagues and customers does not cause offence and could not in any way be regarded as harassment.
You should discourage harassment by making it clear that you find such behaviour unacceptable and by supporting colleagues who suffer such treatment and are considering making a complaint. You should alert a manager or HR in confidence to any incident of harassment to enable us to deal with the matter.
If you are a victim of harassment yourself, you should use the procedure described later in this policy.
Where you consider that you have been harassed or bullied by someone who is not an employee of the Group you must report the harassment or bullying to your manager, supervisor or to HR. We will then consider what action is appropriate to address that complaint and prevent any further incidents.
Managers’ and team leaders’ responsibilities
Managers and team leaders have a duty to implement this policy and to make every effort to ensure that harassment and bullying does not occur, particularly in work areas for which they are responsible.
Group’s responsibilities
The Group will take steps to support the principles set out in this policy. It will:
Scope and use of harassment procedure
Due to the seriousness with which the Group views harassment and bullying, informal and formal reporting procedures have been introduced which are separate from and replace the Grievance Procedure as a mechanism for dealing with complaints.
If you are the victim of harassment or bullying, you must not hesitate to use this procedure for fear of victimisation. Retaliation against an employee who brings a complaint of harassment or bullying is a serious disciplinary offence which may constitute gross misconduct.
Because it is easier to resolve harassment issues if they are brought to the Group’s attention quickly, you are encouraged to invoke the harassment procedure promptly if you think you have been harassed or bullied.
Informal procedure
If an incident happens which you think may be harassment or bullying you are advised to attempt to resolve the problem informally. In some cases it may be sufficient to make it clear to the harasser that their behaviour is unacceptable and that it must stop. If you are unable to do this face to face, a written request explaining the distress which the behaviour is causing, handed to the harasser, may be effective. Alternatively, if you feel such action is too difficult or embarrassing you can seek assistance from your line manager or another senior member of the team or HR.
Formal procedure
If the harassment or bullying continues, where serious harassment or bullying occurs or where you do not consider use of the informal procedure appropriate, you are advised to bring a formal complaint and should then seek assistance from your line manager or his or her immediate superior. If this course of action is not suitable, assistance should be sought from HR. All complaints will be considered seriously and dealt with promptly and in confidence.
You will be asked to put your complaint in writing to the individual dealing with your complaint (e.g. line manager or HR). Your written complaint should, where possible, state:
As soon as a formal complaint of harassment has been received, the Group will consider whether action should be taken and, where possible, to separate you from the person against whom you have made the complaint. This may include a temporary transfer for that person to another department or area, or suspension with pay until the complaint has been investigated and resolved.
The responsible manager or HR, will carry out a thorough investigation as quickly as possible, maintaining confidentiality at all times. The person handling the investigation will, as far as possible, not be connected with the allegation in any way. All team members interviewed in the course of the investigation will be reminded of the need for confidentiality. Investigations will be handled with sensitivity and with due respect for both your rights and the rights of the person against whom you have made the complaint. You will not be asked to provide details of the allegations repeatedly unless this is essential for the investigation.
The investigation will involve interviews with you and the person against whom you have made the complaint, who will be given full details of the nature of the complaint and will be given the opportunity to respond.
Both you and the person against whom you have made the complaint will have the right to be accompanied by separate colleagues or union representatives at any interviews.
When the investigation has been completed you will be informed in writing whether or not your complaint is considered to be well-founded:
Whether or not your complaint has been upheld your line manager will meet you after your complaint has been resolved to ensure that there are no further issues that need to be addressed.
The Group takes these matters very seriously. However malicious complaints of harassment or bullying can have a serious and detrimental effect upon a colleague. Any unwarranted allegation of harassment or bullying, made in bad faith, will be regarded as potential gross misconduct. We are sure that you will appreciate that this is necessary to protect the integrity of the policy.
Appeals
If you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been handled, you may ask for it to be reconsidered by a director. Requests for reconsideration of the complaint should be made in writing within five working days of the date you were informed of the outcome of the initial investigation, setting out the reasons why you wish to appeal as fully as possible. If this is possible, the senior individual selected to hear your appeal will have had no previous involvement in your complaint.
As a first step, the individual selected to hear the appeal will arrange to meet with you and give you the opportunity to explain why you think the conclusion of the initial investigation was wrong. They will then decide what (if any) further investigations are required to enable a decision to be reached on whether the outcome of the initial investigation was correct. Their decision will be communicated to you and will be final.
A member of the team who receives a warning or who is dismissed for harassment or bullying may appeal against the penalty in accordance with the Group’s Disciplinary Procedure.
Time scales and records
The Group will make every effort to reach a decision on whether or not a complaint is well founded within four weeks of receipt of the formal complaint. Appeals will where possible be dealt with within three weeks. As the complexity of harassment and bullying complaints varies greatly, we will not always be able to meet these time limits: while it is always highly desirable to resolve all complaints at the earliest possible opportunity, this will not always be possible if the investigation is to be both thorough and fair.
Records will be made of all investigations and hearings; their outcome and the action taken and will be kept confidential.
December 2022.