Raising a harassment or bullying complaint
If you believe you have suffered harassment or bullying, you should follow our grievance procedure.
Alternatively, employees may raise issues in confidence with a senior officer in HR services by email.
Employees experiencing harassment in the workplace including sexual harassment can also make use of the reporting arrangements in the Whistleblowing Policy. Concerns can be submitted in writing, by email or to the reporting line.
When a disclosure is made in the public interest and in accordance with the Whistleblowing Policy, the individual raising the concern has legal protection from harassment or victimisation because of the disclosure.
A public interest concern could include bullying or harassment if it is affecting more than one person or the perpetrator is a person with authority and influence. Where the concern is a personal matter, the case will be referred to HR and the protections under this policy and the Employee Resolution (Grievance) Policy will apply.
You should raise the matter, where possible, without delay. We do not want you to feel subject to this behaviour for a lengthy period.
We will take action when an employee:
- commits an act of harassment or bullying
- breaches this policy in any other way
They may face action, up to and including dismissal, under our disciplinary procedure.
We will take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment where possible, including harassment by employees, agency workers or contractors, service users, members of the public, or other third parties.
Agency workers or contractors may submit a complaint about harassment or bullying.
If an agency worker or contractor commits an act of bullying or harassment, they will face formal action. Depending on the circumstances, this may involve terminating any contract or agreement.
There are other available actions if the person committing the acts of bullying or harassment is not an employee:
- For councillor code of conduct and reporting to the monitoring officer, refer to the constitution
- For the public and people using our services, employees can refer to the unacceptable behaviour section of the Health and Safety Hub. Any illegal acts should be reported to the police. Any acts of abuse or aggression should be reported through Accident Incident Reporting (AIR form), and for further details employees can refer to the Health and Safety hub.
Victimisation
Victimisation occurs when someone mistreats an employee because:
- they make or support a complaint
- raise a grievance under the Equality Act 2010
- are suspected of making a complaint or raising a grievance
- they submit to or reject sexual harassment or harassment
We will not tolerate:
- the victimisation of a person for making allegations of harassment or bullying in good faith
- supporting someone to make such a complaint
We may take disciplinary action against the perpetrator of such behaviour.
Examples of victimisation can include:
- ignoring someone or not offering them a job
- blocking opportunities, such as training or progression
We cannot protect employees from victimisation if they act maliciously to make or support a false complaint.
We will take any malicious or unwarranted allegations of harassment or bullying seriously. We will take appropriate action, disciplinary or otherwise, where necessary.