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 Sexual harassment at work in any form is unacceptable and will not be permitted or condoned.
We take active steps to help prevent our colleagues from being sexually harassed in the workplace or from being victimised if they have made a complaint or have supported someone who has made a complaint.
We encourage anyone who is a victim of, or a witness to, sexual harassment to report it in accordance with this policy. This will enable us to take appropriate actions and provide support.
Sexual harassment can result in legal liability for us as a Company and the perpetrator. Any member of staff who sexually harasses another person will be disciplined and, where appropriate, may be dismissed.
This policy applies to all employees and workers working for the Group (including managers, directors, agency workers, and contractors).
This sexual harassment policy is not contractual but informs individuals of the types of behaviour that are unacceptable and provides employees who are the victims of sexual harassment with a means of redress. The Group may amend the policy from time to time when it considers it appropriate to do so.
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual Harassment is any unwanted physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
It also includes treating someone less favourably because they have submitted or refused to submit to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature in the past.
Sexual harassment may include, by way of example:
A single incident can amount to sexual harassment.
A person may be sexually harassed even if they were not the intended “target”. For example, a person may be sexually harassed by pornographic images displayed on a colleague’s computer in the workplace or by overhearing colleagues boasting about their sexual conquests.
A person may experience sexual harassment because of conduct of a sexual nature that they find unwanted, even if it was not intended to have that effect by the person doing it. For example, whilst the joke may have been intended to be inoffensive to the recipient and if it was of a sexual nature, this may amount to sexual harassment.
Third-party harassment
Third-party sexual harassment occurs when a person is sexually harassed by someone who isn’t employed by us or is under our control but with whom they have come into contact during the course of their employment.
Third-party harassment could include, for example, unwelcome sexual advances from a supplier visiting our premises, by our customers, or where employees are visiting third-party premises in the course of their employment.
The law requires us to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties and we will not tolerate third-party harassment either by a third party to our staff or by our staff to a third party. Examples of steps that we will take to prevent third-party harassment include taking appropriate action in respect of every complaint of harassment by a third party.
All colleagues are encouraged to report any sexual harassment they experience or witness in accordance with this policy, including third-party harassment, and to speak to their manager or HR if they think there are additional steps we could take to protect them from sexual harassment.
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 towards colleagues, visitors and other third – parties does not cause offence and could not in any way be regarded as sexual harassment.
You should discourage sexual 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 sexual harassment to enable us to deal with the matter.
If you are a victim of sexual harassment yourself, you should use the procedure described later in this policy.
Where you consider that you have been sexually harassed by someone who is not an employee of the Group you must report the sexual harassment to your manager or HR. We will then consider what action is appropriate to address that complaint
Managers’ and team leaders’ responsibilities
Managers and team leaders have a duty to implement this policy and to make every effort to ensure that sexual harassment does not occur, particularly in work areas for which they are responsible.
Managers and team leaders should:
Group’s responsibilities
The Group will take steps to support the principles set out in this policy. It will:
Scope and use of sexual harassment procedure
All colleagues are encouraged to report any sexual harassment they experience or witness in accordance with this policy, including third-party sexual harassment.
Due to the seriousness with which the Group views sexual harassment 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 or witness to sexual harassment, you must not hesitate to use this procedure for fear of victimisation. Retaliation against an employee who brings a complaint of sexual harassment is a serious disciplinary offence which may constitute gross misconduct.
You should raise any concerns with your line manager or HR department. All complaints will be considered seriously and dealt with promptly and in confidence.
You may 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:
You can also raise your concerns confidentially via our Whistleblowing line, which can be accessed online at https://boparan.ethicspoint.com/ or via phone at 08000698730
As soon as a formal complaint of sexual 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:
If your complaint is well founded, disciplinary action may be taken against the person about whom you complained. The severity of the penalty imposed upon the harasser will be consistent with those detailed in the Group’s Disciplinary Procedure. Where a lesser penalty is appropriate (for example a written warning), or where no formal disciplinary action is taken, this will be coupled with such action as the Group considers appropriate to help you continue working without embarrassment or anxiety. After discussion with you, it may be recommended the transfer of the harasser to a different work area or arrange for the amendment of working practices to minimise contact between you and the harasser.
If we decide not to uphold your complaint, we will explain why and explain you your right to appeal. If your complaint relates to a colleague, we will consider ways of improving your relationship and may, for example, suggest mediation or offer training.
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 sexual harassment have a serious and detrimental effect upon a colleague. Any unwarranted allegation of sexual harassment, 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 wish to appeal the outcome. 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 sexual harassment 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 sexual harassment 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.
Confidentiality
We are committed to handling all complaints of sexual harassment sensitively and confidentially.
If you have made a complaint, witnessed an incident or are accused of sexual harassment, you must not discuss the case with anyone except:
We will ensure that any investigation into a complaint is conducted confidentially and that the details of the complaint are only disclosed to those who need to know in order to investigate and resolve the matter. In some cases, this may include providing information to the police or to a regulator.
If you fail to maintain confidentiality when you are involved in some way in a sexual harassment complaint, then you may face action under our Disciplinary Policy.
Monitoring
We will monitor the treatment and outcomes of any complaints of sexual harassment or victimisation we receive to make sure that they are properly investigated and resolved, those who report or act as witnesses are not victimised, repeat offenders are dealt with appropriately, cultural clashes are identified and workforce training is targeted where needed.
We will review the effectiveness and contents of this policy as required
October 2024