As an employer, there are times when you may have to deal with difficult situations. One such situation that may arise is when an employee raises a workplace bullying or harassment allegation. If attempts to resolve the issue informally are unsuccessful, your employee may make a formal workplace bullying or harassment complaint. They may even take legal action, which means going to an employment tribunal. Therefore, it is vital that you are aware of how you should respond to allegations of bullying or harassment. This article will explain how you should respond to a bullying or harassment allegation in your business.
What is Bullying and Harassment?
When a person does something which causes another to feel offended or intimidated, this is bullying and harassment. This might include behaviour which is:
- offensive;
- humiliating;
- harmful in either a physical or emotional way; or
- intimidating.
Bullying and harassment do not have to happen face-to-face but could happen in a written format such as through a letter or an email. It could also happen over the phone.
The following are examples of behaviour in the workplace, which could be bullying or harassment at work:
- mistreating someone;
- spreading malicious rumours;
- constantly putting a person down or picking on them; and
- stopping someone from taking a promotion or training opportunity.
Whilst bullying is not against the law, harassment in certain circumstances is. This is the key difference between bullying and harassment.
Harassment is an unlawful form of bullying if it relates to any of the following:
- race;
- disability;
- age;
- sex;
- sexual orientation;
- religion or belief;
- maternity of pregnancy issues;
- civil partnership and marriage; or
- gender reassignment.
What is Your Responsibility?
Employers have a responsibility to stop bullying and harassment from taking place within the workplace. There is a legal responsibility to do all you reasonably can to prevent it. You also have a duty of care towards your staff to look after their wellbeing.
Whilst the person carrying out any bullying and harassment is the person responsible for this, you can also be held responsible. As a third party, employers can be legally responsible for their staff's actions.
Actions to Take if an Employee Raises a Bullying or Harassment Allegation
If you are faced with an allegation of bullying or harassment in the workplace, you must take this seriously. There are legal options an employee can take regarding the allegation, so taking it seriously can potentially prevent the situation from escalating.
Your initial response should be to check your workplace policies and procedures for dealing with allegations of bullying or harassment. It is also important that you deal with any allegation sensitively and fairly. This is related to the employee making the allegation, the person accused of it, and anyone else involved.
Talk to the Employee Making the Allegation
First, it is vital to meet with the employee making the allegation and discuss the following:
- what exactly has happened;
- who is involved;
- what kind of response they wish to see;
- what type of support they may require, such as staff support networks or external organisations such as charities; and
- assurance that the complaint is confidential.
You should try to keep an open mind during this conversation. You should also be mindful of any sensitive issues surrounding the allegation and keep an eye on their mental wellbeing after they have raised the allegation.
Take Action
During your conversation with your employee, you will have discussed what course of action they may wish to take. There are many ways to respond to an allegation of bullying or harassment. For example, speaking to the person accused, watching over the issue, or undergoing mediation are all options. It is also possible to deal with it through formal channels.
It is essential that you try to take the action which your employee wishes to take. However, where you cannot agree, it is up to you to decide how to move forward. For example, you may decide that the allegation is too serious not to handle it formally. However, where your employee opts to take formal action, regardless of your views, you must take this.
Informal Action
An employer should try to deal with a bullying or harassment allegation informally where possible. You may need to look into the complaint further before deciding which action to take. Where this is the case you will need to:
- decide who is best placed to do this, such as a neutral person;
- gather evidence; and
- keep a record of all the steps taken. and your findings
When you decide which informal action is most appropriate, you may need to check that the employee who made the allegation agrees with you. You may decide on more than one course of action, like:
- mentoring;
- training;
- a meeting with all involved;
- speaking one-one with those involved; or
- mediation.
You may alternatively decide that no action is needed. If this is the case, ensure that you record this in writing with your reasons.
Formal Action
Where either you or your employee decide that formal action is necessary, you should follow the relevant formal procedure in place within your business. Alternatively, you should follow a formal grievance procedure if you do not have a specific procedure in place for bullying and harassment allegations. As part of this, there are two initial points you need to consider.
Who Will Investigate the Complaint?
Ideally, this should again be a neutral person. If your business is too small to allow this, ensure that the person investigating keeps an open mind and acts fairly. Another option is to pay for someone outside the business to investigate. the dispute
Do You Need to Separate Employees?
This may be necessary as a means to protect employees. Any separation must be carried out fairly, and any consideration of suspension should be carried out very carefully.
If the result of your formal procedure is to take disciplinary action against an employee, then you should follow a formal disciplinary procedure.
After Responding to a Bullying or Harassment Allegation
Once you have responded to the allegation, it is best to do the following:
- keep a clear record of what you did, the evidence gathered and your final actions;
- update the employee who made the allegation;
- keep tabs on the issue; and
- continue to attempt to prevent bullying and harassment from happening. This may include new procedures in place as specific responses to an allegation.
Key Takeaways
As an employer faced with an allegation of bullying or harassment, you are ultimately responsible for the behaviour. As such, it is essential that you immediately, seriously and fairly handle the dispute. After discussing the allegation with your employee, you have options to respond to it informally or through a formal procedure. Either procedure will involve gathering evidence and deciding upon a final course of action. Likewise, it is important that you keep a concise written record of how you responded to the allegation. You should also consider further procedures to put in place as a response to the allegation, to prevent future bullying or harassment.
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