Workplace Bullying and Sexual Harassment

1. Workplace Bullying and Sexual Harassment Policy, procedures and guidelines for the prevention and elimination of workplace bullying and sexual harassment

2. Rights and Responsibilities Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 • Definition includes both physical and psychological health and safety. • Common law • Employers have a duty of care to their employees • Vicarious liability • Employees must comply with instructions given by the employer in regards to workplace health and safety.

3. What is Workplace Bullying? • Bullying is a form of psychological and/or physical harassment that may intimidate, degrade or humiliate another person. • Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable and less favourable behaviour directed towards and employee or group of employees which may be considered inappropriate practice. • Some characteristics of workplace bullying are outlined as follows: • Bullying can take many forms – it can be overt or subtle, direct or indirect • Bullying may occur between and employer and employee/s, between colleagues or between and employee and another person in the workplace eg a student or parent.

4. What is Harassment? • Harassment is any behaviour which is not invited or welcomed and which often occurs because of a person’s sex, race, marital status, disability, sexuality, religious beliefs or political persuasion • Harassment often occurs when power is used inappropriately. It is not always intended and acts which may seem trivial or amusing to one person may hurt or offend others • Acts of hatred on the grounds of race, religion, homosexuality or HIV/AIDS may constitute vilification contrary to sections 124A and 131A of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Act 1991

5. How do we identify workplace bullying and harassment? • I was only mucking around! • I was trying to make him work harder. • Can’t she take a joke? • She was asking for it If you are unsure, ask yourself, does the person’s behaviour, whether verbal or nonverbal: • Offend, frustrate, demean, isolate or intimidate? • Reduce a person’s status, make them feel powerless? • Reflect on the way you would like to be treated?

6. Examples of workplace bullying and harassment • Physical-physical contact, assault • Verbal, yelling, screaming, offensive language, insults • Non-verbal-mimicking, making fun of attributes, tampering, displaying written or pictorial material • Professional isolating, ignoring • Undermining, denying, overworking, threats • N.B Just because a person is not objecting out loud (to jokes and behaviour) doesn’t mean they like it

7. Not! Workplace harassment and bullying does not include: • Constructive feedback • Counselling on work performance or work related behaviour that may include critical comments indicating performance deficiencies • Occasional differences of opinion • Non aggressive conflicts • Reasonable management action

8. Some reasons why bullying and harassment might occur? • Poor people management practices and skills – micromanagment. • Dubious ‘initiation’ practices. • Pressures of workplace – tight deadlines. • Low self-esteem, feeling threatened, competition for promotion. • Lack of policy • Workplace culture- main reason bullies exist in an organisation

9. Effects of Bullying and Harassment • Bullying and harassment can have a detrimental impact on both the organisation and individual employees. • Effects on employees can include: Psychological illness eg stress, depression, anxiety, physiological illness such as nausea, headaches and migraines, fatigue • Effects on the organisation can include: Increased costs due to absenteeism, staff turnover, workcover premiums, law suits, fines, compensation, negative publicity, difficulty in attracting or retaining quality staff, • Employees who are concentrating on bullying others, or avoiding being bullied are not concentrating on doing their jobs well and being 100% productive.

10. What is Sexual Harassment? “An unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature”. • Sexual harassment may be an isolated instance or a series of incidents and can effect anyone regardless of gender. • Sexual harassment is an abuse of power. • Sexual harassment which involves physical harassment may be considered to be sexual assault. • Some types of sexual harassment may be offences under criminal law!

11. Examples of sexual harassment • Personally offensive verbal comments • Sexual or smutty jokes • Comments about a persons alleged sexual activities or lifestyle • Persistent unwelcome social invitations or phone calls • Being followed home from work • Stares and leers • Offensive hand or body gestures

12. Educate, Communicate and Train

13. Bullying or Harassment? • Rachel is a Grade 4 teacher. She has found numerous notes left on her desk and in her pigeon hole from Derek, another member of staff, asking her out. Rachel has not responded and avoids Derek. Last week Rachel received frequent text messages and messages on her home answering machine from Derek. The messages were explicit… • Mr Lopey is a parent of a year 6 student. He challenges the school secretary demanding to see the Principal. The Principal agrees to meet with Mr Lopey only to be bombarded with his shouting, quite open threats and finger pointing…

14. Bullying or Harassment? (cont) • Amy teaches Year 11 Biology. She has been subjected to rude gestures, suggestive comments and leers from a group of Year 11 male students. She has also found notes under her windscreen wipers that are degrading and suggestive… • Greg has been teaching for 12 years. The Principal and he often clash in staff meetings. His performance in the classroom has attracted 4 letters of concern from parents and colleagues in the Maths department claim he is not pulling his weight. He is approached by the principal to begin and unsatisfactory performance process. Greg alleges he is being bullied by the Principal…

15. What can we do? Inform, Convey and Instruct • Bullying and harassment will not go away unless we do something about them. Silence and denial will only reinforce. • Proactive and reactive approaches • Training and education, conflict resolution skills (inservice idea) • Informal and formal options for redress which are confidential, timely and objective. • Policies on workplace bullying and ensuring all staff and school community are made aware of their content, meaning and implication • Bullying and harassment contact person (BCEC etc) • Focusing on improving relationships between staff and wider school community by clarifying what is and is not acceptable behaviour (top down modelling, culture)

16. Roles • Role of the Principal • Role of Harassment Contact Officer • Role of Senior Education Officer • Role of Unions

17. Preventing and Resolving Workplace Bullying and Harassment • Prevention action • Personal resolution-informal • Expression of concern • Lodge a complaint-formal

18. Preventing and Resolving Workplace Bullying and Harassment (cont) • Informal • Two approaches • -Direct approach (personal resolution): Private, informal resolution, may seek the support of a harassment contact officer • -Mediation: meeting between the parties with a view to resolving the matter, Principal may act as mediator, or an external mediator may be used

19. Preventing and Resolving Workplace Bullying and Harassment (cont) Expression of Concern • Staff members who have observed bullying may register an expression of concern. • Support and advice is available from a harassment contact officer • Does not involve a formal complaint

20. Preventing and Resolving Workplace Bullying and Harassment (cont) Lodge a formal complaint • A formal complaint can be lodged if informal procedures are not suitable. • Two tiered process -Local level -System level

21. Other contexts of bullying • Harassment or Bullying behaviour of a staff by a student (Public display or circulation through electronic mail of material, including jokes, Physical and/ or verbal threats and assault) • Bullying behaviour from parents towards a member of staff (Threats, litigation or media exposure as a form of intimidation, offensive, insulting and abusive language)

22. Resolving complaints at Local Level • In writing • Seek support (harassment contact officer or union representative) • Respondent made aware of the complaint before investigation initiated • Interview complainant (support person available) • Interview respondent (support person available) • Negotiate resolution between parties, which may include mediation • Signed record of steps taken and outcomes • Time frame: 5 working days

23. Resolving complaints at the System Level • Notification of a complaint • On receipt of a complaint, investigation initiated • If not investigated previously (at local level): • Interview the complainant (support person available) • Interview the respondent (support person available) • Where necessary, interview any witnesses named by the complainant or the respondent; • Keep a record of the steps taken; • Maintain a written record of interviews; • Provide a written report to the Director.

24. Investigation Process • Establish a transparent process • Inform all parties (of process, timeline, principles of investigation, support person) • Review background information • Conduct interviews (complainant, respondents, witnesses) • Investigation report • Inform all parties of findings (substantiated or not) • Follow up action (disciplinary, counselling, record keeping)

25. Legal Issues • Defamation • Natural Justice • Victimisation • Confidentiality • Vexatious claims • Record keeping