Allegations of mistreatment at work: how to address workplace bullying and harassment
Workplace culture is important. It can create cohesion and cultivate growth - or it can leave your employees feeling isolated and intimidated. Continue reading to discover the steps you should take as an employer when an employee raises allegations of harassment and bullying.
With ex-Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, resigning amid allegations that he abused his power and belittled colleagues, the conversation about workplace bullying is back in full flow. With no strict legal definition of ‘bullying’, just how should you deal with it when it happens to your employees?
First and foremost, it's important to know what constitutes bullying and harassment in the workplace as it can take many forms including verbal abuse, exclusion from certain social activities, and outright intimidation.
Harassment can be based on a variety of factors, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and age. Both bullying and harassment create a hostile work environment and can have serious psychological and physical effects on employees.
Upon investigation, the behaviour may be described as being just “banter”, part of the general day to day interactions between colleagues, and that the intention was to be funny. However the sentiment is justified, it’s important as an employer to keep in mind that people react differently to situations. What one employee may deem to be a joke another may be made to feel uncomfortable, concerned, or unsafe. Actions or comments can be harassment or bullying regardless of the intentions of those involved.
If an employee is experiencing bullying or harassment in the workplace, it's essential to take action to diffuse tension in the workplace (for the parties involved and also for fellow colleagues who may inadvertently be affected) to prevent the situation from worsening. This can also help to maintain the trust and confidence your employees have in you as their employer.
Should appropriate action not be taken, this may result in the reputation of your business being put at risk. A recent story hitting the headlines evidencing this is that of the director general of the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) being dismissed following serious allegations being made about the behaviour of the staff at the CBI. Such allegations include those of bullying and sexual harassment. The organisation now faces potentially irreparable reputational damage.
If you have any indication that this may be something that is happening, or you simply want to ensure it does not happen in future, we have set out below our top tips for addressing this behaviour in the workplace.
Incorporate preventative measures into your business - think of the phrase ‘prevention is better than cure’. It is easier to stop workplace bullying from happening in the first place than to repair the damage after it has happened.
This can be achieved by implementing appropriate policies to set out the expectations of staff and how to identify bullying and harassment, as well as offering training on positive behaviour in the workplace and dealing effectively with these types of allegations.
Such measures will show you as an employer who takes this seriously. You’ll be seen as an employer who listens and addresses concerns that employees may have.
Create a safe environment for employees to voice their concerns. Ensure employees know who in your business they can approach to voice any concerns they may have. This may be a supervisor or a HR representative.
To further assist, you may consider implementing a wellbeing initiative within your business and having nominated wellbeing ambassadors who employees could confide in if they believe they are being subject to workplace bullying.
Creating a safe environment in this way will encourage early awareness of issues in your business and in turn result in early interventions by speaking to the parties involved to seek resolution. This will prevent grievances being raised and ensure concerns do not have the chance to escalate into a bigger problem, which is best for you as the employer as well as for your employees.
Deal with grievances fairly and effectively. Should early intervention either not be possible or successful, this may result in an employee lodging a formal grievance. In this instance, it is key that the grievance is dealt with in accordance with your grievance policy.
Consider who in your business should be involved in the investigative process - this person should be independent and impartial to ensure fairness throughout. A thorough and confidential investigation should take place to establish the facts of what happened, and a balanced and reasoned outcome should be provided to the individual.
A right of appeal should also be offered to the employee if they do not believe they have received an appropriate outcome.
If you want to ensure your business is equipped to correctly deal with workplace bullying or harassment, please don’t hesitate to contact our specialist employment law solicitors to discuss how they can assist you.
Contact Tom to discuss this further.
