Bullying & harassment February 2016
Internal, Bullying & harassment, Version1, Page 1 of 5 February 2016
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Internal, Bullying & harassment, Version1, Page 2 of 5 February 2016
We regard the following behaviours as bullying: We aim to drive our business forward and create a great environment for our people to work in, where no forms of bullying or harassment are tolerated.
Bullying and harassment has no place in our company and if a colleague has any concerns about this, they will be dealt with appropriately and fairly.
The policy also outlines the process to follow if you feel that you are being harassed or bullied by someone you work with.
This policy covers all prospective and current colleagues, contractors, temporary and agency workers and anyone else working directly for Tesco on a permanent or temporary basis.
This policy doesn’t form part of your contract and may be amended or withdrawn at any time. It may also be appropriate to share this policy with suppliers, consultants and visitors to our businesses.
We define bullying as repeated (or has the potential to be repeated) aggressive, offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, degrade or injure the recipient. Bullying can be:
spreading nasty rumours; insulting someone; ridiculing or belittling someone e.g. picking on them making fun of them or insulting them either by themselves or in front of other colleagues; excluding someone from group activities with no good reason; unnecessarily close, bossy overbearing supervision; making threats or comments about a colleague’s: - safety; - job security; - property; - family; deliberately undermining a competent colleague e.g.: - overloading them with work; - constantly criticising them; - monitoring their work rate and no one else’s physical assault; misuse of power or position e.g.: - stopping a colleague from progressing through the business by blocking promotion or training opportunities for no good reason; - setting them up to fail; - being dictatorial and not allowing colleagues to voice their opinions.
Harassment is defined in the Equality Act 2010 as unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. Protected characteristics are:
Physical: where someone aims to hurt or wound you; Verbal: cruel words and scary threats; Emotional: the threat of removing a friendship; and Cyberbullying involves technology to quickly and widely spread cruel messages.
Behaviour that is considered bullying by one person may be considered firm management by another i.e. our supporting your performance programme and constructive feedback don’t constitute as bullying themselves as, if used in line with our processes it’s part of day to day management. Most people will agree on extreme cases of bullying and harassment but it is sometimes the 'grey' areas that cause most problems.
age;
disability;
gender reassignment
marriage or civil partnership – this doesn’t cover people who are single
pregnancy or maternity
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation
Internal, Bullying & harassment, Version1, Page 3 of 5 February 2016
The legislation means that it’s unlawful to harass anyone on the basis of these characteristics including if:
you have a protected characteristic e.g. you’re pregnant; or
you’re associated with a protected characteristic e.g. a
family
member
has
been
though
gender
reassignment; or
Quite often, someone may not be aware of the impact their actions are having on you, so the first step is to tell the person to stop whatever it is they are doing that is causing you distress, if you feel comfortable to do so.
you’re perceived to have a protected characteristic
You can also speak to your manager who can support you on most issues, but if your concern involves them it may be appropriate that you speak to someone else.
e.g. someone thinks you’re gay even though you’re If the problem is with another colleague, then consider whether the problem can be resolved by speaking with them directly. Be firm, calm and stick to the facts.
not. Sexual harassment includes:
unwelcome sexual advances such as touching you, or standing uncomfortably close, leering, staring and suggestive comments; unwelcome contact by email, phone or social media; display or viewing of sexually suggestive objects, photo’s, cartoons, written materials; asking for sexual favours; making decisions on the basis of sexual advances being accepted or rejected; unwelcome sexual innuendos; inappropriate sexual references and comments; using sexually degrading or vulgar words to describe an individual; comments or questions about a person’s body, sexual activity, prowess or deficiency; not taking ‘no’ for an answer after asking someone out on a date; and stalking.
It can occur in a number of different ways and isn’t always one colleague (or manager) to another colleague, it can also be:
a supplier/visitor to a colleague; a group of colleagues to another or a group of colleagues; or a group of colleagues towards one colleague.
It doesn’t have to be face to face, and can take place outside of working time e.g. if someone sends you intimidating or nasty emails, text messages or ‘tags’ you on such social media posts, this is also regarded as bullying and/or harassment.
Many concerns can actually stem from a misunderstanding, so consider if there been a change of management or organisational style to which you just need time to adjust to, or do you need to consider a different way of working that will make it easier for you to cope? If you find it difficult to talk to the person yourself, or the matter is still worrying you, please let your manager or People Manager know. Be prepared to describe what happened even if you find it uncomfortable or embarrassing. If the matter has not been resolved informally, and you remain unhappy with your situation at work (or if you consider the matter to be too serious to raise informally) you can raise a formal grievance. In some cases, we won't follow a formal process until informal approaches have been exhausted. If you want to raise a formal grievance then you should do this in writing (by email is fine but not texting/instant messaging or via social networking sites) and your letter/email should be as detailed as possible. You can also use a Grievance Form which is available on OurTesco or from your People Manager or Usdaw Representative. It’s also helpful if you set out what you would like the outcome of your grievance to be. We will investigate your concerns promptly and objectively, in line with our grievance policy, considering all the circumstances before reaching a conclusion, as to whether or not what has taken place could be reasonably considered to have caused offence.
Internal, Bullying & harassment, Version1, Page 4 of 5 February 2016
We take allegations of bullying and harassment seriously and do not tolerate it, regardless of cultural, political or environmental views.
No it doesn’t. This policy covers how you treat other colleagues outside of working hours, and how they treat you.
Any allegations of bullying or harassment will be thoroughly investigated in line with our disciplinary policy. Anyone found to be breaching this policy may be subject to disciplinary action which could lead to their dismissal (either with or without notice).
We expect there to be no forms of bullying or harassment in any way outside of work e.g. on social media, when socialising or during break times.
In circumstances where the allegation is raised about a visitor, supplier or customer, we will take all necessary steps to bring this to their attention. We may also choose to bar someone from visiting our premises. The law around harassment is clear…the motive or intention of the harasser is irrelevant. This means that it makes no difference if there was no intention to offend someone; if the actions could reasonably be considered to have caused offence then the harasser is in the wrong.
Victimisation occurs when someone is treated badly because they have made or supported a harassment complaint; or because they’re suspected of doing this.
1
22nd
New policy
February It includes situations where a complaint hasn't yet been made but someone is victimised because it's suspected they might make one.
2016
A person is not protected from victimisation if they have supported or made a malicious complaint.
:
[email protected]
This
document
shouldn’t
be
shared
with
anyone
externally without permission from your Director.
This
policy and any associated documentation remains the property of Tesco and should be returned if requested.
Internal, Bullying & harassment, Version1, Page 5 of 5 February 2016
