Bullying and harassment

SGUL’s commitment to creating a positive working and learning environment

SGUL values diversity and is committed to creating a positive working and learning environment free of harassment and bullying, where all people are treated with dignity and respect. SGUL wants to enable staff and students to fulfill their personal potential and will not tolerate bullying and harassment of any kind. All allegations of bullying and harassment will be promptly and thoroughly investigated and, if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken.

Harassment or bullying can have very serious consequences for individuals and the university. Harassment or bullying may make people unhappy; cause them stress, affect their health and family and social relationships; may affect their attendance, work or learning performance and could cause them to leave their job or programme of study.

Effects on the University may include loss of morale, poor work performance and increased turnover of staff, leading to potential negative impact on teaching delivery, legal claims and damage to SGUL’s reputation.

The university will therefore treat allegations of bullying and harassment seriously and all claims will be promptly and thoroughly investigated, and if appropriate, disciplinary action will be taken.

The university will also take very seriously any allegations proven to be malicious.

Examples of harassment include:

*** These examples are not intended to be exhaustive but to illustrate the types of behaviours which many will find unacceptable. ***

On the grounds of sex

remarks or innuendoes which ridicule, embarrassing or insulting jokes of a derogatory nature, leering or whistling,
unwanted physical contact ranging from unnecessary touching, pinching and brushing against another's body to sexual assault and rape
unwelcome sexual advances, propositions or pressure for sexual activity; suggestive remarks, innuendoes, lewd comments or unwanted comments about appearance
the display of pornographic or sexually suggestive pictures, offensive e-mails/text messages/ videos

On the grounds of race

racially derogatory remarks or jokes, banter, ridicule or taunts
graffiti or slogans or the display of pictures, posters or web-sites with racial overtones, even if not directed at a particular person
using a disparaging or offensive tone when communicating with people from certain racial groups

On the grounds of disability

jokes about disability, disabled people or people with HIV/AIDS
mimicking the effect of a disability or speech impairment
use of inappropriate terms (e.g. cripple, spastic)
excluding individuals with disabilities from professional and social events by act of commission or omission

On the grounds of sexual orientation

homophobic remarks or jokes
threats to disclose sexuality
asking intimate questions about sexual activity
outing someone as lesbian, gay or bisexual without their permission

On the ground of trans status

refusing to associate with or ignoring someone because they are trans
refusing to address the person using their new name and gender pronoun
failure to keep confidential information about that person’s trans status
refusal to allow use of sanitary facilities appropriate to the gender in which the person is living

On the grounds of age

use of ageist stereotypes
making assumptions about abilities or fitness on grounds of age
basing selection for training or development on the grounds of age (e.g. excluding those approaching retirement)
correlating career progression with age (e.g. the assumption that someone should have reached a certain career point by age 40)

On the grounds of religion or belief

offensive remarks or jokes about religion or belief
refusal to work with a person because of their religion or belief (or lack of religion or belief).

Dignity at Work and Study Policy

SGUL’s Dignity at Work and Study Policy applies to both staff and students. This policy explicitly states SGUL’s commitment to developing a positive working and learning environment free of harassment and bullying. It states that the institution will thoroughly investigate any such allegation. In line with good practice, the policy gives examples of unwanted behaviour and refers to all seven equality strands. Staff and students are also made aware that if they harass someone, they may be personally liable as well as the institution.

Code of Conduct on Professional/Consensual Relationships

Staff and students should also read the Code of Conduct on Professional/Consensual Relationships which outlines the minimum standards of behaviour expected of everyone who works at SGUL. This code defines situations which might constitute a conflict of personal interest for staff with their duties towards the institution. The policy covers recruitment of staff, admission of students, the awarding of tenders, staff supervision, assessment of and socialising with students and staff line management of staff.

Both staff and students should also familiarise themselves with the Race Equality Policy and the Gender Equality Policy

Making a complaint

Bullying and harassment complaints procedures for staff and students have been thoroughly reviewed and updated. Those who wish to gain support or to make a complaint regarding their situation should follow the appropriate procedure, please see the links below:

Harassment and bullying: complaints procedure for staff

Harassment and bullying: complaints procedure for students

Monitoring

All formal complaints of bullying and harassment are reported directly to the Principal as soon as a written complaint is received.

For equal opportunities purposes, all informal and formal complaints regarding bullying and harassment collect anonymised data on race, gender, age and disabled status of all individuals raising a claim irrespective of whether the disciplinary process is subsequently invoked.

The level of complaints is monitored – with data for each Division being compared to the rest of the institution. This data is fed back to the Division and discussed with the Division’s link Human Resources Manager.

Data on individual Divisions, the number and type of cases (anonymised), level of action and outcomes will be reported annually to the Human Resources Committee, the Equality and Diversity Committee, the Strategy, Planning and Resource Committee and the Council.

SGUL is committed to taking positive action in Divisions which have high levels of complaints concerning bullying or harassment.

Dignity Advisors Scheme

St Georges has set up a Dignity Advisers scheme. Dignity Advisers offer confidential advice and support to anyone affected by bullying or harassment. A Dignity Advisor can assist staff and students who feel upset or offended by the behaviour of another to:

determine whether they have been harassed, bullied or victimised
decide how best to approach the person believed to be behaving unacceptably
understand the different options for tackling such situations and SGUL’s policies and procedures.

Informed advice

All Dignity Advisors have received training and have been fully briefed on the;

dignity at work and study policy
code of conduct on professional/consensual relationships
harassment and bullying: complaints procedure for staff
harassment and bullying: complaints procedure for students

and can advise individuals on the informal courses of action open to them.

A Dignity Advisor may:

Offer advice

Help the complainant talk to the individual on their own, or with a colleague accompanying them.

Speak to the individual(s) on the complainant’s behalf

Help put the complainant’s concerns in writing

Facilitate a meeting between both parties.

Confidentiality

Advice is offered in confidence and usually the Dignity Advisor will not take action following an informal approach concerning harassment without the express permission of the individual concerned - unless the allegations are very serious. As part of their training, Dignity Advisors have been trained to assess if the individual approaching them or anyone else may be at risk.

How to contact a Dignity Adviser

Please contact Dignity Advisers directly.

Name Email Phone

Leigh Gallagher lgallagh@sgul.ac.uk 0208 725 1575

Helena Thelin Johansson m0801244@sgul.ac.uk

Dignity Advisers recruitment

We periodically recruit for new Dignity Advisers. Full training is given for this role. Please follow the links below for further details:

If you would like to apply for this role, please complete the application form and return it by email to Kea Horvers Equality and Diversity Manager khorvers@sgul.ac.uk and your application will be held on file until the recruitment process begins again.

Support

A free counselling service is available to all staff and students at SGUL whether they feel they are being bullied, or have been accused of bullying. This service is completely confidential. For more information or to arrange an appointment with a counselor please go to the Counselling Service

Useful websites

The following sites may be of interest:

ACAS stands for Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. ACAS aims to improve organisations and working life through better employment relations. They have a helpline and provide advice leaflets on Bullying and Harassment at Work

Bully Online contains information on bullying in the workplace and related issues

Business Link in relationship with the DTI has guidance on bullying and harassment

Equality and Human Rights Commission have produced a report 'How Fair is Britain' on bullying in schools

Equality Challenge Unit has a good practice guide Dignity at work: a good practice guide for higher education institutions on dealing with bullying and harassment in the workplace

Harassment Law A regularly updated guide to the relevant legislation can be found here

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