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Administration and Policy Manual APM |
Doc No.: APM 1.6 Revision: 0 Date: 15Apr 2023 Issued by: DPA Approved by: MD Page: 1 |
1.6 Dignity at Work, Harassment and Bullying
The Company aims to establish an inclusive culture free from harassment, bullying, victimisation, or discrimination.
All colleagues and clients should be treated with respect, dignity, and courtesy. All members of our team have a responsibility to contribute to providing a supportive working environment.
There are different ways to define harassment, including unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of men and women in the workplace. Some of the laws relating to harassment define it as “unwanted conduct that violates people’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. The conduct may be related to age, sex, race, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or religion.
You do not have to intend to cause offence for your behaviour to amount to bullying or harassment. The key question is whether the recipient wants you to behave in that way or not. What might be acceptable to you may be offensive and unacceptable to someone else.
Harassment and bullying can lead to stress, lack of motivation, reduced work performance, absence from duties, and resignations. Bullying is a particular form of harassment that includes hostile or vindictive behaviour, which can cause the recipient to feel threatened or intimidated. Bullying may involve a misuse of power or position.
If you take part in conduct which amounts to unlawful harassment both you, the Company and/or your employer, may be held liable and may be required to pay damages. In some cases, intentional harassment is a criminal offence which may result in imprisonment.
Examples of harassment include:
- Insensitive jokes or inappropriate comments related to a person’s age, sex, race, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or religion, including comments about their dress, looks, or personal life;
- Deliberately excluding someone because of their age, sex, race, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or religion;
- Abusive, threatening or insulting words and behaviour related to a person’s age, sex, race, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or religion;
- Treating someone unfavourably because of their age, sex, race, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or religion.
In addition, sexual harassment may include:
- Unnecessary touching or brushing against another person’s body;
- Displaying sexually suggestive or offensive material, e.g. pin-ups;
- Requests for sexual favours;
- Threat of dismissal, loss of promotion, etc. for refusal of sexual favours;
- Threatened or actual sexual violence.
Bullying means offensive, intimidating, malicious, or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or intimidates the victim in person.
The same principles apply to an area described as Cyber Bullying, where modern communication technologies are used to inflict similar harm.
Some examples of bullying at work include:
- Derogatory remarks, often in front of colleagues;
- Setting impossible deadlines or tasks;
- Insulting or verbally abusing a colleague;
- Blocking promotion, training or career progression;
- Overbearing management or misuse of power or position;
- Criticising a colleague in an over-aggressive, inappropriate, or public way;
- Undervaluing someone’s effort or contribution;
- Intentionally undermining a colleague by overloading and constant criticism.