Venture Life

Dignity at Work Policy

Harassment and bullying can have very serious consequences for individuals and the organisation. Harassment or bullying may make people unhappy, may cause them stress and affect their health and family and social relationships, may affect their work performance, and could cause them to leave their job. Severe cases of harassment and bullying can even lead to mental illness and suicide. Effects on the organisation can include loss of morale, poor work performance, increased turnover of staff, legal claims, and damage to the organisation’s reputation. Employees found guilty of harassment or bullying may face disciplinary penalties, up to and including dismissal, could be personally liable to pay compensation in legal claims, and may find their own family and social relationships are adversely affected. Serious harassment may be a criminal offence.

Venture Life will not tolerate bullying and harassment of any kind. All allegations of bullying and harassment will be investigated and, if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken. The organisation will also not tolerate victimisation of a person for making allegations of bullying or harassment in good faith or supporting someone to make such a complaint. Victimisation is a disciplinary offence.

Bullying and Harassment

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, and/or an abuse or misuse of power that is meant to undermine, humiliate, or injure the person on the receiving end.

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to relevant protected characteristics, which are sex, gender reassignment, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age, that:

• has the purpose of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for that person; or
• is reasonably considered by that person to have the effect of violating their dignity or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for them, even if this effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.

Conduct may be harassment whether the person behaving in that way intends to offend, or not. Something intended as a “joke” may offend another person. Different people find different things acceptable. Everyone has the right to decide what behaviour is acceptable to them and to have their feelings respected by others. Behaviour which any reasonable person would realise would be likely to offend will be harassment without the recipient having to make it clear in advance that behaviour of that type is not acceptable to them, e.g., sexual touching. It may not be so clear in advance that some other forms of behaviour would be unwelcome to, or could offend, a particular person, e.g., certain “banter”, flirting or asking someone for a private drink after work. In these cases, first-time conduct, which unintentionally causes offence will not be harassment, but it will become harassment if the conduct continues after the recipient, has made it clear, by words or conduct, that such behaviour is unacceptable to them.

Harassment may also occur where a person engages in unwanted conduct towards another because they perceive that the recipient has a protected characteristic (for example, a perception that they are gay or disabled), when the recipient does not in fact, have that protected characteristic. For example, it would be harassment for an individual to tease repeatedly another individual because of an incorrect belief that the recipient is deaf. Similarly, harassment could take place where an individual is bullied or harassed because of another person with whom the individual is connected or associated, for example if their child is disabled, wife is pregnant, or friend is a devout Christian.

There may also be circumstances in which an individual is subjected to unwanted conduct from a third party, such as a client or customer. For example, it might be that a client makes a series of racist remarks to a black employee. If an employee feels that they have been bullied or harassed by customers, suppliers, vendors, or visitors, they should report any such behaviour to their manager who will take appropriate action. Bullying or harassment of customers, suppliers, vendors or visitors or others will be dealt with through the disciplinary procedure.

A single incident can be harassment if it is sufficiently serious.

Any bullying and harassment is misconduct and is a disciplinary offence that will be dealt with under the organisation’s disciplinary policy. Bullying or harassment will often be gross misconduct, which can lead to dismissal without notice.

Bullying or harassment will constitute unlawful discrimination where it relates to one of the protected characteristics, which are sex, gender reassignment, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age. Serious bullying or harassment may amount to other civil or criminal offences, e.g., a civil offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and criminal offences of assault.

Reporting Bullying or Harassment

You may be able to sort out matters informally. The person may not know that their behaviour is unwelcome or upsetting. An informal discussion may help them to understand the effects of their behaviour and agree to change it. You may feel able to approach the person yourself, or with the help of a manager. Alternatively, an initial approach could be made on your behalf. You should tell the person what behaviour you find offensive and unwelcomed and say that you would like it to stop immediately. You should keep a note of the date and what was said and done. This will be useful evidence if the unacceptable behaviour continues, and you wish to make a formal complaint.

If an informal approach does not resolve matters, or you think the situation is too serious to be dealt with informally, you can make a formal complaint by using the organisation’s grievance procedure. The organisation will ensure that you can bring your complaint in the first instance to someone of your own sex if you so choose.

In very serious cases, a criminal offence may have been committed and you may wish to report matters to the police.

All complaints will be investigated promptly and, if appropriate, disciplinary proceedings will be brought against the alleged harasser. You will have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative of your choice at any meeting dealing with your grievance. You will be kept informed of the general progress of the process of investigation and the outcome of any disciplinary proceedings. The organisation will decide on a balance of probabilities, after considering all available evidence, whether harassment or bullying has occurred, or not.

The organisation will treat complaints of bullying and harassment sensitively and maintain confidentiality to the maximum extent possible. Investigation of allegations will normally require limited disclosure on a “need to know” basis. For example, your identity and the nature of the allegations must be revealed to the person you are complaining about, so they are able to respond to the allegations. Some details may also have to be given to potential witnesses, but the importance of confidentiality will be emphasised to them. If the complaint is upheld, and a person who has been found to have harassed you is kept in the organisation’s employment, managers may need to be given some information where this is necessary for them to manage the risk of further harassment by that person against you or others.

Wherever possible, the organisation will try to ensure that you and the alleged harasser are not required to work together while the complaint is under investigation. This could involve giving you the option of remaining at home on special leave if you wish. In a serious case, the alleged harasser may be suspended while investigation and any disciplinary proceedings are underway.

If your complaint is upheld, and the person found to have bullied or harassed you remains in the organisation’s employment, every effort will be made to ensure that, if possible, you do not have to continue to work alongside the harasser if you do not wish to do so. We will discuss the options with you. These may include the transfer of the harasser or, if you wish, you may be able to transfer to another post.

If your complaint is not upheld, the Company will support you, the alleged harasser, and your manager(s) in planning for you both to continue or resume working and to help repair working relationships. The organisation will consider arrangements to avoid you and the alleged harasser having to continue to work alongside each other if either of you do not wish to do this.

You have a right not to be victimised for making a complaint in good faith, even if the complaint is not upheld. However, making a complaint that you know to be untrue may lead to disciplinary action being taken against you.

Some types of bullying or harassment may constitute unlawful discrimination and may give rise to the possibility of other civil claims or criminal proceedings. Claims to an employment tribunal about unlawful discrimination must be presented to the tribunal within three months beginning with the act complained of.

Accusations of Bullying or Harassment

If someone approaches you informally about your behaviour, do not dismiss the complaint out of hand because you were only joking or think the complainant is being too sensitive. Remember that different people find different things acceptable, and everyone has the right to decide what behaviour is acceptable to them and to have their feelings respected by others. You may have offended someone without intending to. If that is the case, the person concerned may be content with an explanation and an apology from you and an assurance that you will be careful in future not to behave in a way that you now know may cause offence. Provided that you do not repeat the behaviour that has caused offence; that may well be the end of the matter.

If a formal complaint is made about your behaviour, this will be fully investigated and the organisation may bring disciplinary proceedings, if appropriate. The organisation will follow its disciplinary procedure and you will have the rights set out in that procedure. You will have the right to be informed of the allegations against you and to put your side of the story and to be accompanied to meetings by a trade union representative or work colleague of your choice. The procedure will be implemented at the appropriate stage for the seriousness of the allegation. Complaints of bullying and harassment will often be allegations of gross misconduct that, if proved, could lead to dismissal without notice.

The organisation will treat complaints of bullying and harassment sensitively and maintain confidentiality to the maximum extent possible. Investigation of allegations and future management of risk, if complaints are upheld, will normally require limited disclosure on a “need to know” basis. For example, some details may have to be given to potential witnesses, but the importance of confidentiality will be emphasised to them.

Wherever possible, the organisation will try to ensure that you and the complainant are not required to work together while the complaint is under investigation. If the allegation is of gross misconduct, you may be suspended on full pay during the investigation and, if a disciplinary hearing is to be called, until disciplinary proceedings have been concluded.

If the complaint against you is upheld, on a balance of probabilities, a disciplinary penalty may be imposed up to and including dismissal, having regard to the seriousness of the offence and all relevant circumstances. If the complaint is upheld, but you are not dismissed, the organisation could decide to transfer you to another post.

If a complaint is made against you that is not upheld and the organisation has good grounds for believing that the complaint was not made in good faith, the organisation will take disciplinary action against the person making the false complaint.

You must not victimise a person who has made a complaint in good faith against you or anyone who has supported them in making the complaint or given evidence in relation to such a complaint. Disciplinary action will be taken against you if the organisation has good reason to think that you may have victimised the complainant or someone else.

If the complaint against you is not upheld, the Company will support you, the complainant, and your manager(s) in arrangements for you both to continue or resume working and help to repair working relationships. The organisation will consider arrangements to avoid you and the complainant having to continue to work alongside each other if either of you do not wish to do this.

Some types of bullying or harassment may constitute unlawful discrimination and allegations may give rise to the possibility of other civil claims or criminal proceedings against you, which would proceed independently of the organisation’s disciplinary proceedings. You could be personally liable to pay compensation to the complainant if a successful claim in the employment tribunal or other courts was brought against you. Criminal proceedings could lead to conviction and criminal penalties.