Client Dignity & Respect at Work Policy
At No.8, we are committed to creating a working environment free of
harassment, sexual harassment, intimidation and bullying. We want to
create a safe and enjoyable place of work, where everyone is treated with
dignity, kindness and respect.
We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to instances of bullying or
harassment.
Who does the policy apply to?
This policy covers employees, contractors, agency staff and any other
individuals associated with current clients of No.8. For ease of reference,
this group will be labelled client third parties through this policy.
It covers any form of bullying and harassment in the workplace and in any
work-related settings outside of the workplace such as business trips or
work-related social events or online.
What we expect from you
We expect you, and all individuals associated with your organisation, to
take personal responsibility for observing, upholding, promoting and
applying this policy.
If any individuals associated with your organisation are found to have
committed, authorised or condoned an act of bullying or harassment,
action will be taken against them, up to and including dismissal.
There is no justifiable reason to bully or harass someone else. Even if you
do not intend to bully or harass someone else, this does not legitimise
your behaviour as it is the impact on the recipient that is important.
Key Definitions
What constitutes bullying and harassment?
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour and/ or
abuse or misuse of power that is meant to undermine, humiliate, or injure
the other person. It can range from extreme forms such as violence and
intimidation to less obvious actions such as deliberately and continuously
ignoring someone.
Bullying does not include legitimate and constructive criticism of
performance or behaviour, an occasionally raised voice or an argument.
Harassment is unwanted physical, verbal or non-verbal behaviour that is
carried out for the purpose of violating a person’s dignity or to create an
intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.2
It may include insults, inappropriate jokes, unnecessary contact,
threatening behaviour or gossip.
Everyone has the right to decide what behaviour is acceptable to them
and to have their feelings respected by others. Some individuals may not
understand that their behaviour is unwelcome or offensive and, in some
cases, first-time conduct which unintentionally causes offence may be
resolved by explaining to the person how their actions make you feel.
However, if this conduct continues after you have made it clear that it is
unacceptable, this may constitute harassment.
Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated differently as a
result of certain protected characteristics:
- Sex
- Gender Reassignment
- Race
- Disability
- Sexual orientation
- Religion or belief
- Age
- Pregnancy
- Marriage and civil partnership
Dignity refers to the value of every individual, recognizing that all
individuals deserve to be treated with honour and worth. This means
creating an environment where individuals feel safe, valued and
empowered to express themselves without fear of bullying, harassment or
discrimination.
Respect involves acknowledging and valuing diverse backgrounds,
perspectives and contributions of all employees. This means creating an
environment where individuals’ differences are embraced, and everyone
is treated fairly and kindly.
Together, dignity and respect are the foundation of a workplace culture
that actively opposes bullying, harassment and discrimination. As clients
of JourneyHR, this policy aims to ensure that our employees can work in
an environment free from bullying, harassment and discrimination while
working with you.
Sexual Harassment
A zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment must be maintained.
Clients must be committed to creating a safe and respectful workplace.
Proactive measures to prevent sexual harassment must be implemented.
We expect all our clients to adopt some/ all of the following:
- Risk assessment: Carry out an annual risk assessment on sexual
harassment, a set of targeted questions designed to help identify potential hazards
in the workplace, marking the first step in the risk management process.
- Checks: Carry out reference checks for all workers & employees.
- Ensure access to leadership: Have an open-door policy for
employees to access leadership outside of their direct reporting line,
particularly to discuss issues around sexual harassment.
- Policy Publicity: Regularly publicise your “Dignity at Work policy”
through onboarding, internal communications, and training sessions
to ensure all employees are aware.
- Training & Bystander Training: Incorporate anti-sexual harassment
& bystander intervention training into your ED&I training
programme to empower employees to address inappropriate
behaviour.
- Leadership Accountability: Your managers and senior leaders are
responsible for upholding and promoting a respectful work
environment. They are trained to identify and address inappropriate
behaviour proactively.
- Clear Reporting Procedures: Make reporting procedures visible and
straightforward, ensuring employees know both informal and formal
processes, and offer easy access to reporting channels for all staff,
including temporary and freelance workers.
- Anonymous Feedback and Engagement surveys: Regularly conduct
anonymous surveys to gauge the workplace climate regarding
respect and inclusion. These surveys help to proactively identify
areas for improvement.
- Small workforce and confidentiality concerns: If this is a potential
concern, establish anonymous reporting channels by using third-
party organisations for complaint handling.
- Third-Parties: Provide clear guidelines on appropriate behaviour
when interacting with third parties and establish reporting
mechanisms for incidents involving contractors or the public. If
appropriate, third parties should be included in workplace training
and policies on this subject, and have access to the same reporting and support systems.
Meaning of sexual harassment
Harassment may be sexual in nature.
The law defines sexual harassment as:
- Conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of
violating someone's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile,
degrading, humiliating or offensive environment; and
- Less favourable treatment related to sex or gender reassignment
that occurs because of a rejection of, or submission to, sexual
conduct.
Examples of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment can occur in many forms. While this is not an
exhaustive list, examples include:
- Physical conduct of a sexual nature, unwelcome physical contact or
intimidation;
- Persistent suggestions to meet up socially after a person has made
clear that they do not welcome such suggestions;
- Showing or sending offensive or pornographic material by any
means (eg by text, video clip, email or by posting on the internet or
social media);
- Unwelcome sexual advances, propositions, suggestive remarks, or
gender-related insults;
- Offensive comments about appearance or dress, innuendo or lewd
comments;
- Leering, whistling or making sexually suggestive gestures; and
- Gossip and speculation about someone's sexual orientation or
transgender status, including spreading malicious rumours.
Expected Standard of Behaviour
All individuals covered under this policy are expected to conduct
interactions with employees of No.8 with professionalism, politeness and
fairness. All individuals are to be treated equitably, without discrimination
based on race, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or any
other protected characteristic.
Discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated and will be addressed
promptly and effectively.
All individuals are responsible for creating a safe and supportive
environment, free from intimidation or hostility. Reports of harassment or
bullying will be taken seriously, investigated promptly, and handled with
confidentiality to protect the rights and dignity of all parties involved.
We celebrate and value the diverse cultural backgrounds of our
employees. All individuals covered under this policy will approach all
interactions with employees of No.8 with cultural sensitivity,
acknowledging and respecting differences in customs and beliefs. Our
clients are encouraged to educate themselves about cultural diversity and
engage in open dialogue to foster mutual understanding and respect.
Responsibilities of the Parties
All parties commit to upholding the principles of this Dignity and Respect
Policy and agree to ensure all individuals covered under this policy are
made aware of and abide by these standards. This includes 5
communicating the expectations outlined in this policy to all relevant
individuals.
Compliance with this policy will be actively monitored through regular
check-ins and audits. Any reported issues raised regarding this policy will
be taken seriously and investigated promptly, with appropriate corrective
actions implemented to maintain a respectful and safe environment.
Reporting and Addressing Issues
Informal route
We understand that not everyone will want to, or be ready to, go down a
formal route when reporting an issue. Therefore, there are some informal
options:
Addressing the issue directly:
- If appropriate, the issue can be raised with the individual directly.
- Politely make it clear that their behaviour is unwelcome and ask
them to stop.
- They may not be aware that their behaviour is offensive.
Seeking support:
- If it is not appropriate to speak to the individual directly, consider
asking an appropriate individual for support. The appropriate
individual will depend on the client, but this could be the key client
contact, a member of the senior management team or an HR
professional. The appropriate individual should be of an equivalent
or higher level of seniority than the potential harasser. We expect all
managers or senior employees of our clients to be able to support in
this situation, have conversations on the reporter’s behalf if
appropriate, and take each report of an issue with this policy
seriously.
- For anyone who reports an issue, their wishes will be respected.
Serious concerns:
- If informal action is taken by a member of No.8,and if it is
appropriate to do so due to concerns about repeated offences, or
the creation of an unsafe working environment, No.8 will report the
issue to the client, so that the client is aware and can take
appropriate action.
- If informal action is taken by a member of No.8 in the case where an
individual from the client has been affected by anything covered
under this policy, No.8 will report the issue to the client, only with
the consent of the affected individual.6
- If the safety of others is at risk, or if the matter is serious, a formal
investigation may need to be initiated.
Formal route
If the outcome of the informal process is not sufficient, or if handling the
issue informally is not appropriate, it should be raised formally. We expect
each of our clients to have a robust reporting procedure, so our
employees know who to contact in the first instance. This could be the key
client contact, or a member of the senior management team, or someone
in HR, and there should be more than one individual who can be
contacted, in cases where it is not appropriate to speak to the first
contact. The relevant grievance policy should be followed in full.
The formal process should include:
- Acknowledgement of the complaint
- A thorough investigation conducted to understand the
circumstances surrounding the complaint. This may involve relevant
parties and reviewing any pertinent documentation. This process
should be led by an appropriate HR member within the client, with
support from a neutral member of the No.8 team.
- Once the investigation is complete, the client will communicate the
outcome and outline any findings and any actions taken as a result
of the complaint.
- If any party is not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation,
they may escalate the complaint. Further review will be conducted,
with further action needed if the result is disputed.
Support for those affected or involved
Being involved in a complaint (informal or formal) of bullying, harassment
or sexual harassment can be stressful. Anyone who brings a complaint
forward should be fully supported.
If it is difficult for affected individuals to be working closely with the
alleged bully/ harasser during the investigation, this should be raised and
working arrangements should be adjusted where possible and necessary,
such as an agreement for the No.8 Team to work with the client remotely,
while the investigation is undertaken, or if necessary, a change of the
No.8 team member. Requests to adjust working arrangements will be
taken seriously.
Any individual that raises a complaint or participates in a bullying or
harassment investigation in good faith should not face any detrimental
treatment or victimisation.
Regardless of the outcome of the complaint, the ongoing working
relationship between the affected individuals will be carefully considered.
Potential Outcomes and Corrective Action
In the event of a confirmed case of harassment or bullying, appropriate
actions will be taken to address the issue and prevent future occurrences.
In some cases, such as if there is a dispute, it may be necessary for a
neutral No.8 team member, and a neutral manager associated with the
client to meet to discuss the investigation further, and mutually agree on
the appropriate outcomes.
The following are possible actions that may be implemented, depending
on the severity and context of the issue:
- Warnings: For minor issues, an informal or formal warning may be
issued, outlining the behaviour that did not conform to the policy
and the expectation for compliance moving forward. Continued
issues should result in more serious consequences.
- Retraining: Individuals found to have harassed or bullied someone
may be required to undergo training on dignity, respect, anti-
bullying or anti-harassment practices as appropriate.
- Change of Working Arrangements: If continued interaction between
a No.8 team member and an individual associated with the client is
deemed inappropriate moving forward, action will be taken to
preserve the relationship between No.8 and the client moving
forward. This could include a change of the key client contact or a
change of the No.8 representative.
- Contract Termination: In instances of severe or repeated issues,
such as significant harassment, sexual harassment or bullying,
termination of client contract may be pursued. This will be a last
resort following exploration of alternative working arrangements. If
the issue is sufficiently severe, No.8 reserves the right to terminate
the contract with immediate effect. In some cases, the contract will
be temporarily suspended pending review and resolution of the
issues. This action will be taken to protect the well-being of the
workplace and affected individuals.
Sensitivity and confidentiality
Anyone involved with an informal or formal complaint about bullying or
harassment, including witnesses, must keep the matter strictly
confidential and act with appropriate sensitivity to all parties.
If an individual is found to have breached confidentiality or acted without
due care or sensitivity in a case of bullying or harassment, action may be
taken against the client and any individuals involved.
Continuous Improvement
We will regularly review and update this policy to ensure it remains in line
with best practices and legal requirements. Our commitment to
preventing sexual harassment is ongoing, and we will continue to seek
new ways to promote a respectful workplace culture.
Zero Tolerance
Any confirmed incidents of sexual harassment will be met with disciplinary
action, up to and including dismissal, depending on the severity of the
behaviour.
Policy Creation
This policy was created on 1 November, 2024