Bullying and harassment is unfortunately common within the workplace, as it is within schools and wider society. It doesn't have an age limit and it doesn't just happen to those most vulnerable. It can happen to anyone. Recent case law has made it essential for employers to review their commitment to anti-bullying practices regularly.
Employers need to know how to address bullying and harassment if it does happen, but they also need to take all “reasonable steps” to prevent harassment if they are to be able to avoid or defend harassment claims at an employment tribunal.
Bullying and Harassment Training
The first thing that might spring to mind is to deliver training so that employees know that it’s not acceptable to bully or harass anyone, and the implications if they do.
Delivering training to all employees on the subject is certainly a positive step, provided the training is in depth, regular and not just a tick-box exercise. A recent Employment Tribunal Appeal in the case of Allay (UK) Ltd v Gehlen found that the employer had not taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment as their training was brief and “stale” as training was delivered two years earlier. Employers should provide refresher training on a regular basis.
Tip – ensure that you know in detail the content of the bullying and harassment training course so that you can be assured its suitably in-depth, and to ensure that the training provider is qualified to deliver it. Check out their background to ensure they have experience of addressing bullying and harassment in the workplace and creating a positive work culture.
Bullying and Harassment Policy
Many employers will direct employees who are citing bullying or harassment to their grievance policy, which is a perfectly legitimate way to investigate and address concerns formally. However, I recommend to my clients that they have a separate bullying and harassment policy and procedure which is used to make any formal complaint. The benefit of having a separate policy is that it encourages employees to try to seek an alternative solution such as approaching the bully directly to talk about their concerns or via their manager, or mediation.
Once a complaint reaches a formal stage or grievance, often working relationships will be irreparably broken.
The policy also strengthens the company’s commitment to stamping out bullying and harassment, and it’s zero tolerance stance, which can be helpful as long as the company “practices what it preaches”.
Tip – to encourage employees and managers to take action against bullying and harassment, employers can promote “encouraging/practicing good working relationships” or something along those lines as a standard/competency against which recruitment/performance is measured.
Watch out for Office Banter
Workplace conflict happens. So does what is unhelpfully labelled “office banter”. Now I’m not saying that workplaces shouldn’t be jovial, but this can so often lead to feelings of being bullied or harassed, particularly if it’s a regular thing. Managers should be alert to this and step in as soon as they recognise that something said or some type of behaviour could be perceived as being inappropriate, and have a quiet word. This is often all that is needed to quash the sort of behaviour that can escalate into a claim of bullying and harassment.
Create a feedback culture
Some of my clients even have a “yellow card” system meaning that in meetings, they will issue a yellow card to someone who has said or done something unintentionally inappropriate. Sounds harsh, but creating a feedback culture where constructive feedback is welcomed and accepted can work really well.