Bullying and harassment policy
TTS Training Services Ltd is committed to providing a working environment that is free of harassment and bul-
lying, and where everyone is treated, and treats others, with dignity and respect. The Company will
not permit or condone any form of bullying or harassment.
This policy covers bullying or harassment of or by anyone engaged to work at the Company, and also
by third parties such as customers or suppliers. The policy encompasses bullying or harassment that
occurs in the workplace, and also out of the workplace, such as on business trips or at
work-related social events.
This policy does not form part of your contract of employment, and we may amend it at any time.
What is harassment?
Harassment is any unwanted physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct that has the purpose or effect of
violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or
offensive environment for that person. A single incident of this nature can amount to harassment
if sufficiently serious.
Unlawful harassment may involve sexual harassment, or it may be related to any other of the
Protected Characteristics detailed in our Equal Opportunities policy (age, disability, gender
reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality,
ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation). The Company’s stance is
that harassment is unacceptable, whether or not it is targeted at any of these categories.
Examples of harassment may include (but are not limited to) the following:
• Display or circulation of sexually suggestive material or material with racial overtones;
• Use of slang names for racial groups, or age groups, or for disabled persons;
• Professional or social exclusion;
• Unwanted physical conduct, such as touching, pinching, pushing and grabbing;
• Unwelcome sexual advances or suggestive behaviour;
• Offensive emails, text messages or social media content.
It is important to note that harassment occurs even if the harasser perceives his/her behaviour as being harmless and without malice, or ‘just a bit of fun’. What matters is how the behaviour makes the recipient feel, and not what the perpetrator’s intentions were. Also, a person may be harassed even if they were not the intended ‘target’ of the behaviour. For example, a man may be harassed by sexist jokes about women if the jokes create an environment that is offensive to him.
What is bullying?
Bullying is a sustained form of psychological abuse. It is defined as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, involving the abuse or misuse of power, which has the purpose or effect of belittling, humiliating or threatening the recipient.
Workplace bullying usually takes one of three forms: physical, verbal or indirect. It can range from ex-treme forms such as violence and intimidation, to less obvious actions, such as professional or social exclusion.
Examples of bullying may include (but are not limited to) the following:
Please note that managers are duty-bound to give their team members feedback and to generally
manage their performance. Legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of a team member’s performance or behaviour, or reasonable instructions given to an employee in the course of their employment, will not amount to bullying on their own.
What to do if you are being harassed or bullied
Informal approach
You may be able to sort out matters informally. The person may not know that their behaviour is
unwelcome or upsetting, so an informal discussion may help them to understand the effects of
their behaviour and agree to change it.
If you feel able to, tell the person what behaviour you find offensive and unwelcome, and say that
you would like it to stop immediately. You should keep a note of the date and what was said and
done. This will be useful if the unacceptable behaviour continues and you wish to make a formal
complaint.
If this is too difficult for you, then please talk to your manager, or a trusted colleague, for
advice and as- sistance. They may for example speak to the person concerned on your behalf, or
accompany you when you speak to them.
If the informal approach is not appropriate, or has not been successful, you should raise a formal
grievance.
Formal procedure
When a team member feels that they need to deal with an issue of harassment or bullying formally,
they should do so according to the Company’s grievance procedure.
We will investigate complaints in a timely, confidential and sensitive manner. The investigation
will be conducted where possible by someone with appropriate seniority and experience, and no prior
involve- ment in the complaint. Details of the investigation, and the names of the people involved,
will only be disclosed on a ‘need to know’ basis. We will consider whether any steps are necessary
to manage the ongoing working relationship between you and the person accused during the
investigation.
Once the investigation is complete, we will inform both parties (separately) of our decision.
Whether or not your complaint is upheld, we will consider how best to manage any ongoing working
relationship be- tween you and the person concerned.