Bullying & Harassment

We work with organisations who want to ensure that they have a bully-free environment. This is done through a mix of training, coaching and helping draft, communicate and implement an appropriate anti-bullying and harassment policy and putting preventative measures in place to stop reoccurrence.

 

What are bullying and harassment?

These terms are used interchangeably by most people, and many definitions include bullying as a form of harassment.

 

Harassment can also have a specific meaning under certain laws (for instance if harassment is related to sex, race or disability, it may be unlawful discrimination). The law also gives protection against harassment relating to religion or belief and sexual orientation..

Bullying may be characterised as:

offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.

Bullying or harassment may be by an individual against an individual (perhaps by someone in a position of authority such as a manager or supervisor) or involve groups of people. It may be obvious or it may be insidious. Whatever form it takes, it is unwarranted and unwelcome to the individual.

We help organisations by providing training to their employees to ensure knowledge about bullying and harassment is at its highest and all employees recognise that inappropriate behaviour has no place in todays organisations.

The cost of harassment

Harassment can lead to illness, absenteeism, less commitment, poor performance and resignation. All of these elements have a cost to them. The conflict which harassment creates should not be underestimated. Employees can be subject to high levels of personal stress which can damage morale and lead to higher labour turnover, reduced productivity, lower efficiency and divided teams.

What are the grounds and forms of harassment? Grounds

There is no one checklist of what defines harassment as it is often specific to the person, relating to their feelings of respect and dignity.

Individuals are protected from discrimination both while applying for a job, during it, and after the working relationship ends (for example in terms of the provision of a verbal or written reference). There is also protection for people against harassment on the basis of their membership or non-membership of a trade union and, in Northern Ireland, against harassment on the basis of political belief.

Forms

Harassment and bullying can range from extremes such as physical violence to less obvious forms like ignoring someone. Forms of harassment include:

• physical contact
• jokes, offensive language, gossip, slander, sectarian songs and letters
• posters, graffiti, obscene gestures, flags, bunting and emblems
• isolation or non-cooperation and exclusion from social activities
• coercion for sexual favours
• pressure to participate in political/religious groups
• intrusion by pestering, spying and stalking
• failure to safeguard confidential information
• spreading malicious rumours, or insulting someone by word or behaviour (particularly on the grounds of age, race, sex, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief)
• copying memos that are critical about someone to others who do not need to know
• overbearing supervision or other misuse of power or position
• making threats or comments about job security without foundation
• preventing individuals progressing by intentionally blocking promotion or training opportunities.

Bullying and harassment are not necessarily face to face. They may also occur in written communications, email, phone, and automatic supervision methods such as computer recording of downtime from work or the number of calls handled if these are not applied to all workers.

Who is responsible when harassment happens at work?

Harassment has a negative effect on employees and employers, and both have responsibilities when it happens.

Employers responsibilities

Employers need to take action to prevent harassment, encourage incidents to be reported, respond promptly and ensure policies are followed correctly. Legally, they have a common law duty of care, and responsibilities under health and safety and discrimination legislation.

Employers have vicarious responsibilities that extend to any environment where work-related activities take place. These include social gatherings organised by the employer such as work parties or outings (when they are held at a time or place associated with the workplace). Organisations must maintain their commitment to promoting an open and non-threatening environment on these occasions. If they do not, the employer could be liable unless they were able to demonstrate that they took reasonable steps to prevent harassment.

An employer can be ordered to pay unlimited compensation where harassment has occurred, including the payment of fines for injury to feelings.

Individual responsibilities

Individuals can be prosecuted under criminal as well as civil law and they could be personally liable and have to pay compensation themselves, as well as any payment the organisation may be ordered to make.

Individuals also have a responsibility to behave in ways which support a hostile-free working environment for themselves and their colleagues. They should play their part in making the organisations policy a reality and be prepared to take appropriate action if they observe or have evidence that someone else is being harassed.

What actions are needed to tackle harassment?

Policies, communication and training

A well-designed policy statement is an important first step in addressing harassment and should cover all the complexities of intimidating behaviour, including bullying. Policy statements should be agreed with union representatives. A policy does not automatically change cultures and behaviours, so senior management support and communicating the policy is essential, through staff handbooks and intranet, induction and training programmes, and appraisal interviews.

Policy statements should:

• give examples of what constitutes harassment and intimidating behaviour - it is also useful to define positive and supportive behaviours
• explain the damaging effects and why it will not be tolerated
• state that it will be treated as a disciplinary offence
• clarify the legal implications
• describe how to get help and make a complaint, formally and informally
• undertake that allegations will be treated speedily, seriously and confidentially
• promise protection from victimisation for making a complaint
• clarify the responsibilities of line managers, HR departments and the role of union or employee representatives
• make it the duty of supervisors/managers to implement policy and ensure it is understood
• emphasise that every employee carries responsibility for their behaviour.

Policies should be communicated so that all employees:

• know their rights and personal responsibilities under the policy
• understand the organisations commitment to deal with harassment
• are aware of who to contact if they want to discuss their experiences in order to decide what steps to take
• know how to take a complaint forward

Training can prevent harassment being accepted or condoned. Those with responsibility for implementing the policy should be given specialist training.

Mediation should also be considered as an option to the grievance and disciplinary process. For more information on how we can help your organisation prevent bullying and harassment, please contact us.