Bullying harassment

DAVID WRIGHT

INCREASINGLY OFTEN, I’M CONTACTED ABOUT CASES

Where an employee claims they have been bullied or harassed. Some raise it as a grievance with their employer; in some cases the claim comes from an employee facing a disciplinary allegation; but more frequently it comes from an employee who has been signed off sick with stress.

There isn’t a legal definition of bullying. However, a useful description is: “Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour; an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the person being bullied”.

The Health and Safety Executive emphasises that this is a pattern that occurs “repeatedly and persistently over time”, rather than an isolated incident. Examples include making unreasonable demands, over-vigorous monitoring of work or spreading rumours.

Differentiating the two

Bullying is used as a catchall term, but harassment is more specifically defined as: “Unwanted conduct relating to a protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation) that has the purpose of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. A one-off incident can amount to harassment.

Bullying and harassment are judged according to the perceptions of the recipient. It isn’t acceptable for the perpetrator to claim it was “banter”, for example, or that the person is oversensitive.

However, it isn’t bullying or harassment if you’re professionally managing a poorly performing employee.

If you have objective evidence that they are underperforming and records of your meetings where you’ve made this clear, then inevitably they might receive closer supervision but this isn’t bullying.

If you receive a complaint of bullying or harassment in your salon, don’t ignore it. It has an operational impact and can result in sickness, poor morale and resignations.

It’s essential both staff and clients are aware that you don’t accept bullying and employees know what to do if they feel it has happened to them. Some use the term “zero tolerance”. The first priority is to create a written policy.

This will make everyone aware it isn’t acceptable. You may need to spend time giving training and guidance to staff, particularly on handling concerns about a client’s behaviour. Your disciplinary procedure should list bullying and harassment under “gross misconduct”.

Taking action

@If an employee makes a complaint it must be investigated as a matter of urgency. Ask for examples, dates, and ideally named witnesses. Try to maintain confidentiality. For example, without naming anyone, ask staff if they have ever witnessed inappropriate behaviour. At some point, you must put the allegations to the alleged bully. Depending on the seriousness, you may need to suspend them.

You might uncover other incidents both in and outside of work. In some cases, employers have found it useful to get in touch with staff who have left over the last 12 months as they now feel free to speak openly.

If you can’t get absolute evidence, it isn’t necessarily a failure. Although you won’t be able to take formal action, you’ll be able to demonstrate how seriously you’ve taken the complaint. Remember, if the employee believes you have allowed bullying or harassment, they are free to resign and take a claim to employment tribunal. PB