Orgaisig for Health & Safety Tacklig bullyig at work UNISON guidelies
Bullyig at work guidelies 2
Cotets Itroductio 4 What is workplace bullyig? 4 Bullyig or harassmet - is there a differece? 4 Recogisig bullyig 5 Examples of bullyig behaviour 5 The extet of bullyig 7 The cost of bullyig 9 Workplace bullyig ad the law 10 The role of risk assessmet 11 Negotiatig a policy o bullyig 13 Procedure for complaits 14 Represetig a bullied member ad a alleged bully whe both are UNISON members 14 Access to cousellig 14 Moitor ad review 14 Checklist for safety represetatives 15 Safety represetatives rights 16 What braches ca do 16 Appedix A 17 Further iformatio 20 3
Bullyig at work guidelies Itroductio UNISON believes that everyoe should be treated with digity ad respect at work. Bullyig is totally uacceptable behaviour as it deies staff this right. Bullyig at work is a major workplace problem that makes the daily workig lives of may workers itolerable. Workplace bullyig ca lead to ill-health ad work-related stress, it affects morale ad is the cause of utold misery to workers. This is bad for the workforce ad bad for the orgaisatio, because workers affected by bullyig may take log periods of sick leave or leave the orgaisatio altogether. Workplace bullyig ca remai a hidde problem but may be accepted or ecouraged by the culture of the orgaisatio. These guidelies outlie what UNISON braches, stewards, ad safety represetatives ca do to combat bullyig. It ca be used to offer advice ad support to UNISON members who experiece bullyig i the workplace ad will also help whe developig or egotiatig policies/agreemets o bullyig. This guide does ot iclude advice o bullyig by cliets or other members of the public as this is dealt with i our guidace o violece at work. Work-related violece for example threats, verbal abuse, harassmet or actual harm from cliets, patiets, members of the public etc is a very real risk for may UNISON members. Uder health ad safety legislatio, employers have duties to assess risks to staff, icludig workrelated violece, ad to itroduce policies ad procedures to cotrol ay risks idetified. Details of UNISON guidace o prevetig/reducig violece at work ca be foud i the further iformatio sectio. What is workplace bullyig? There is o simple defiitio of bullyig because it ca take may differet forms, occur i a variety of situatios ad crosses geder, race, age ad ivolve oe or a umber of idividuals. However, UNISON has defied workplace bullyig as persistet offesive, itimidatig, humiliatig behaviour, which attempts to udermie a idividual or group of employees. Bullyig is geerally carried out face-to-face but ca also occur i writig by telephoe, text messagig, or by email. Bullyig or harassmet is there a differece? There are clear similarities betwee the two types of behaviour as both bullyig ad harassmet are liked to a abuse of power. However, it is useful to uderstad the differece betwee the two, particularly as there are greater legal remedies available to someoe subjected to harassmet. Harassmet ca be defied as coduct which is uwated ad offesive ad affects the digity of a idividual or group of idividuals. Whether the harassmet is itetioal or ot is irrelevat; the key is that the perso beig harassed sees the commets or actios as offesive, demeaig, disrespectful or uacceptable. Harassmet is caused by prejudice agaist specific members of society, as i racial ad sexual harassmet, or harassmet o the grouds of sexual orietatio, geder idetity, disability, age, religio or atioality. Most forms of discrimiatio are outlawed by specific legislatio, so it is importat to recogise whe bullyig takes a discrimiatory form. UNISON has produced separate guidace o harassmet at work. See the further iformatio sectio for details. 4
Recogisig bullyig Bullyig ca occur i a umber of differet ways. Some are obvious ad easy to idetify. Others are subtle ad difficult to explai. Examples of bullyig behaviour iclude: igorig views ad opiios withholdig iformatio which ca affect a worker s performace settig ureasoable or impossible deadlies settig umaageable workloads humiliatig staff i frot of others spreadig malicious rumours itetioally blockig promotio or traiig opportuities ridiculig or demeaig someoe by pickig o them or settig them up to fail overbearig supervisio or other misuse of power or positio deliberately udermiig a competet worker with costat criticism. Examples of bullyig behaviour There are may examples of bullyig. The followig are various types of bullyig behaviour experieced by UNISON members: Public verbal abuse I was blamed for my mistakes i frot of the etire office. I was shouted at ad told to do the work that should have bee doe ad ot to do it agai. Everyoe was listeig as the maager shouted at me. Rubbishig your work, public humiliatio through doig a job ot to the required stadard. Settig urealistic targets, beig made to feel uprofessioal. Cotract maipulatio I was threateed with job loss because I wated the bak holiday off with my family. I was harassed at home by phoe by my ward maager whe I was off sick. I was threateed about my job due to how much sick leave I d had i the past six moths. The sick leave was due to havig to wait three weeks for a hospital admissio. I eeded time off with a viral ifectio. My maager told lies to other members of staff about why I was off work. Udermiig actios The maager totally udermied me i frot of cliets, givig them the impressio I was ot capable of helpig them ad advisig them to come aother day. Takig my clock card out of the rack ad discussig my hours with geeral office staff. Not passig o messages; delayig paperwork so deadlies were missed. 5
Bullyig at work guidelies Oe slight error, the maager blows up as if you had doe the whole page wrog. Will ot liste to what you have to say; picks o differet people at differet times. Cyberbullyig Techology has see the developmet of ew ways i which to bully, harass ad abuse workers. Bullyig by email, over the phoe ad by text message with the use of digital cameras ad camera phoes is o the icrease. A idepedet olie survey of over 1,000 workers carried out i 2007 foud that a fifth of respodets had bee bullied by email i their curret or previous jobs, ad 6.2% had bee bullied via text message. other article to aother perso ad uder Sectio 43 of the Telecommuicatios Act 1984 it is a similar offece to sed a telephoe message that is idecet, offesive or threateig. The Protectio from Harassmet Act 1977 also applies. Uder this Act it is a crimial offece to make repeated threats of violece, whether itetioally or ot. Such a case is brought by the police ad if a perso is covicted they could be set to priso for up to six moths ad/or be give a fie ot exceedig 5,000. Cyberbullyig is a particular cocer withi the educatio sector, where pupils have used mobile phoes to take pictures ad videos of staff at work. These images are the circulated to the phoes of other pupils across the school or put o the iteret. Emails are also used to abuse ad harass staff. The developmet of social etworks has made the problem worse as they ca be used to actively ecourage the abuse of school staff ad may are used by pupils to further humiliate staff. Publicly available, derogatory remarks ca damage the career progressio of staff ad there is evidece that some employees have chose to leave the service altogether to escape bullyig ad harassmet. Victims of cyber-bullyig experiece the same feeligs of fear, itimidatio, stress ad low morale as those bullied face-to-face. A key differece is that by usig iformatio systems to cause harm, the victim has o cotrol over who witesses the abuse. Cyber-bullyig should be icluded i ay prevetio of bullyig policy ad procedures. It should be treated as ay other form of bullyig, requirig a risk assessmet ad appropriate cotrol measures. Uder the Malicious Commuicatios Act 1998 it is a offece to sed a idecet, offesive or threateig letter, electroic commuicatio or 6
The extet of bullyig Bullyig is a very real problem i the workplace, with research idicatig that millios of workers are affected. Results from a UNISON survey o bullyig ad harassmet which was carried out i 2009 by Portsmouth Uiversity supports this. The survey of over 7,000 UNISON members foud that 2,466 people (34.5%) had bee bullied i the last six moths, while for 1,554 members (21.7%) this is ogoig. Of those that have t bee bullied i the last six moths 32% say they have bee bullied at some poit i the past. Equality ad bullyig Questios aroud the six equality strads of age, disability, geder, race, religious belief ad sexual orietatio were also icluded i the UNISON survey to help i idetifyig the extet of harassmet ad its causes. The results show that a large majority of the 765 respodets had bee harassed across all spectrums of the equality strads. The table below sets out these results i more detail. I relatio to harassmet, 765 (10.7%) of members said they had bee harassed i the last six moths at work ad for 536 members this is ogoig. Grouds of harassmet Number of people harassed Percetage Age 302 Mostly older ad youger see below 4.2% of sample Disability 114 1.6% of sample, 15% of disabled Geder 42 me 126 wome 168 overall 2.1% me, 2.5% wome, 2.3% overall Race 84 people See breakdow below Religio 34 people 1.2% Sexuality gay lesbia, bisexual, heterosexual 31 of 143, 17 of 103, 8 of 101, 19 of 6,207 22%, 16% 8%, 0.3% Statistics from our aalysis of female workers i the 18-30 age rage foud that more tha oe i three youg wome are regularly beig bullied at work. 33% have bee bullied i the last six moths ad 66% say it is ogoig. Of those that have t bee bullied i the last six moths, a further 41% say they have bee bullied at some poit. 7
Bullyig at work guidelies Ethicity ad bullyig Our results also reveal that Black wome employees are twice as likely to be bullied as their white colleagues. For example, 52% of Black Caribbea, 56% of Black Africas, ad 51% of UK-bor Black employees reported beig bullied compared to 33% of white employees. This icreased to 67% whe those i the category Black other was icluded. Workers withi other ethic groups have also experieced high levels of bullyig. Resposes from ethic groups are set out below. Number bullied i last six moths % of group Bagladeshi 8 of 13 61% Chiese 5 of 10 50% Idia 31 of 58 53% Pakistai 17 of 32 53% Asia UK 21 of 32 66% Asia other 16 of 30 53% Black Africa 19 of 30 56% Black 42 of 81 52% Caribbea Black UK 36 of 71 51% Black other 14 of 21 67% White UK 2,004 of 6,134 33% Irish 65 of 149 42% White other 188 of 466 39% The results of the UNISON survey o bullyig ad harassmet Bullyig at Work 12 years o! ca be foud at uiso.co.uk/safety Surveys carried out by other orgaisatios have also show that bullyig exists i may orgaisatios. For example, results from the latest TUC safety represetatives survey foud that oe i three (33%) of safety represetatives idetified bullyig as a problem i their workplace. Ad the Chartered Istitute of Persoel ad Developmet has idetified workplace bullyig as a widespread problem. Their survey carried out i 2006 foud that oe fifth of all UK employees experieced some form of bullyig or harassmet over the previous two years. The results also show that the groups most likely to become victims of bullyig ad harassmet are Black ad Asia employees, wome ad disabled workers. Nearly oe third (29%) of Asia ad Black workers had experieced some form of work-related bullyig or harassmet, compared with 18% of white employees. Employees with disabilities were at least twice as likely to have experieced oe or more forms of bullyig ad harassmet (37%), compared with o-disabled employees (18%). The extet of bullyig ca vary betwee differet employers ad sectors. The health sector I April 2009 the the chair of the Healthcare Commissio wared of the corrosive ature of bullyig amog NHS staff ad maagers. He said: Oe thig that worries me more tha aythig else i the NHS is bullyig. We re talkig about somethig that is permeatig the delivery of care i the NHS. He also said that the problem was caused by the NHS hierarchical culture ad occurred across all staff groups. These commets followed the results from a staff survey i which 8% of respodets said they had experieced bullyig, harassmet or abuse from a maager or team leader ad 12% said they had experieced this behaviour from colleagues. Higher educatio Alarmig levels of bullyig ad harassmet also exist i the higher educatio (HE) sector. A UNISON survey of members workig i HE revealed that aroud 20% of staff reported beig subjected to violece at work, just uder oe third reported beig harassed by other staff, ad aroud a third of wome respodets reported some form of sexual harassmet. As a result a Equality Challege Uit has bee fuded by the HE Fudig Coucil for a project to ivestigate both the causes of such behaviour ad how to prevet it. 8
Case study Sarah works as a maagemet accoutat i a large NHS trust i Lodo. She had bee there for two years before ay bullyig occurred but a chage i her first lie maagemet chaged that. Her supervisor targeted Sarah by makig a issue out of every mior icidet ad beig overly critical, Sarah believed that her ew boss ejoyed havig cotrol ad power over her. This icluded havig to tell her whe she was leavig the departmet o every occasio, icludig usig the toilet. Ad whe Sarah requested aual leave the maager made it difficult ad would wait util the last miute to approve it, which meat that Sarah had to either pay more for her holidays or cacel them altogether. Sarah said If I made a error, I was persecuted for it, I felt so helpless, as my every move was beig watched ad recorded. Sarah s complait to seior maagers led owhere as they expected staff to resolve such issues together ad iitially took o iterest i the matter. Followig a formal complait at director level, steps were take to resolve the matter ad mediatio was used as the way forward. The hospital has sice chaged its bullyig ad harassmet policy to iclude better ways of dealig with bullyig. The cost of bullyig The huma, ecoomic ad social cost of bullyig ca be very high but the mai cost of bullyig is to the bullied idividual themselves. Those who experiece bullyig ca feel axious, itimidated, threateed ad humiliated. Bullyig ca cause feeligs of frustratio ad ager ad ca lead to stress, loss of self-cofidece ad self esteem. Workers ca also lose motivatio affectig work performace ad absece levels. I extreme circumstaces bullyig has led to self-harm ad eve suicide. Bullyig ca also have a sigificat effect o the physical ad metal health of the workforce as it ca be a major cause of work-related stress. Accordig to the Health ad Safety Executive (HSE) stress at work ca be triggered or made worse where there is prologed coflict betwee idividuals, icludig bullyig ad harassmet or where staff are treated with cotempt or idifferece. Give that a third of all sickess absece relates to stress, this ca have a staggerig effect o a orgaisatio. I additio to the effects o idividual workers, bullyig ca affect both the performace ad the morale of the workforce, icludig those who have witessed bullyig. Other symptoms of bullyig ca iclude: headaches ausea ulcers cotemplatig suicide sleeplessess ski rashes irritable bowel sydrome high blood pressure tearfuless loss of self-cofidece. I additio, where employers base recruitmet ad promotio decisios o sickess absece levels, bullyig ad harassmet ca have a major impact o the career of idividuals. 9
Bullyig at work guidelies Failure to deal with bullyig costs the employer i other ways as it ca have a effect o the culture of the whole orgaisatio. If it is ot tackled the it will be see by others to be acceptable behaviour. If cases result i a idividual takig their employer to a employmet tribual, which comes to the attetio of the media, it ca have a very bad effect o the orgaisatio s reputatio. Ay employer who believes that the oly way people will work is if they are afraid ad axious must be made to questio how they value ad use their huma resources which are their most importat asset. Workplace bullyig ad the law Although there are o specific laws relatig to bullyig at work, legislatio exists that ca be used by employers to help them prevet or tackle the problem. This meas that employers who fail to tackle bullyig are breakig the law. Uder the Health ad Safety at Work Act 1974, all employers must provide a safe ad healthy workig eviromet, icludig protectio from bullyig ad harassmet at work. The Maagemet of Health ad Safety at Work Regulatios 1999 require employers to assess the ature ad scale of workplace risks to health ad safety (this icludes metal health), esure that there are proper cotrol measures i place to avoid these risks wherever possible ad reduce them so far as is reasoably practicable where ot. The Health ad Safety Executive s guidace o stress also makes it clear that there should be systems i place to deal with iterpersoal coflict such as bullyig or harassmet. Where bullyig or harassmet is motivated by the workers race, geder, sexual orietatio, disability, age, religio or belief a claim ca be bought uder equality legislatio aimed at protectig idividuals from such treatmet. Claims ca be made to a employmet tribual. The Employmet Rights Act 1996 also allows employees to claim ufair dismissal if they are forced to leave their job because of actios by their employer or a failure to deal with ay complaits. Such actios ca iclude failure by the employer to protect their employees from bullyig ad harassig behaviour or failure to deal with ay complaits of bullyig or harassmet. There is also scope to take actio through legislatio that falls outside the workplace. For example, uder the Crimial Justice ad Public Order Act 1994 it is a offece to cause a perso harassmet, alarm, or distress, use threateig, abusive or isultig behaviour either verbally or i writig. 10
Case study The Protectio from Harassmet Act 1997 The Protectio from Harassmet Act was itroduced to combat the problems of stalkig. It had ot bee cosidered that it would provide a remedy for bullyig i the workplace util the case of Majrowski, below. Majrowski v Guy s ad St Thomas NHS Trust 2005 Mr Majrowski worked for the Guy s ad St Thomas Hospital Trust as a cliical co-ordiator. He made a formal complait of harassmet agaist his maager Mrs Freema i April 1998. He alleged that she had bullied ad itimidated him. He stated that she was rude ad abusive to him i frot of other staff. She criticised him cotiually ad imposed urealistic performace targets o him. She the threateed him with discipliary actio if he failed to meet them. He alleged the treatmet was fuelled by homophobia as he was gay. The complait was upheld by the trust ad they foud harassmet had occurred i 1999. Mr Majrowski was dismissed by the trust for a ucoected icidet. Nearly four years later he claimed damages uder sectio 3 of the Protectio from Harassmet Act for distress ad axiety caused while he was employed by the trust. Iitially the case was struck out by Judge Collis at the Cetral Lodo Couty Court. He stated that the 1997 Act did ot create a level of liability i employmet law ad that employees were already adequately protected by the commo law. Mr Majrowski appealed to the Court of Appeal. O 16 March 2005 the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, statig that the Protectio from Harassmet Act could cover the situatio where a employee was bullied durig the course of his employmet. The defedats appealed to the House of Lords. The questio raised was whether a employer is legally resposible (ie vicariously liable) for harassmet committed by a employee i the course of his/her employmet. O 12 July 2006 the House of Lords upheld the decisio of the Court of Appeal The role of risk assessmet Challegig bullyig at work ca be especially difficult i workplaces, particularly where it is accepted as part of the culture. However, i ay workplace, it is importat that bullyig is raised ad tackled at the earliest possible opportuity. Leavig it to go o meas more stress ad sufferig for the perso beig bullied ad colleagues who have witessed it. It also makes it harder for the problem to be sorted out ad is ot the traditioal risk assessmet approach to dealig with hazards. People who are beig bullied are ofte wrogly made to feel that they should put up with the pressures they are uder. Victims do ot speak out about bullyig because they fear that the bullyig will oly get worse if they do, or that they will ot be believed, which will esure it gets worse. The oly way to stop this is to esure that bullyig does ot become the accepted culture ad that maagerial practices are cotrolled withi reasoable limits. That is the role of risk assessmet. I most cases bullyig at work is tackled by focussig o the problem oce it has occurred. This meas that people are hurt before somethig is doe. Like ay workplace hazard, the basis for ay actio to tackle bullyig should be risk assessmet. The aim of risk assessmets is to prevet harm occurrig i the first place. The Health ad Safety Executive s Five Steps to Risk Assessmet approach ad how it applies to bullyig was developed by the Hazards Campaig ad is set out below 11
Bullyig at work guidelies Step 1 - idetify the hazard A hazard is somethig that may cause harm, such as bullyig. Bullyig behaviour ca take may forms icludig persistet, offesive, itimidatig, or humiliatig behaviour that may udermie a idividual or group of employees ad may cause them to suffer stress or other harm. Workplace policies must iclude a defiitio ad list examples of behaviour that is deemed uacceptable. Step 2 - decide who might be harmed ad how Those who are the target of a bully are clearly at risk, but so are those who witess the bullyig behaviour. Results from the 2009 UNISON survey o bullyig ad harassmet reveal that early 50% of those who had witessed bullyig became worried that they would also become a target for the bully ad over 20% had decided to chage jobs for this reaso. There may also be particularly vulerable groups at risk from bullyig ad harassmet such as youg workers, those o work experiece, or those with metal health coditios. All of them may suffer fear, ager, stress, axiety, ad/or depressio. Patiets ad cliets may also witess the bullyig ad other forms of harm may be suffered. Some victims of bullyig have committed suicide. Step 3 - estimate the chace of harm ad idetify ways to avoid or reduce that risk To work out the chace of harm, employers eed to thik about how likely it is that those at risk will suffer harm ad how serious that harm may be. This helps to set priorities. Clearly, the loger ay bullyig goes o, the greater the risk of harm. I additio, vulerable idividuals may be less able to cope ad may therefore suffer more serious harm The secod part of this step is to thik about what measures ca be put i place to avoid or reduce the risks. As already metioed, most guidace o bullyig looks at cotrollig the problem oce it has occurred, whe the approach should be about puttig measures i place to prevet it happeig or reducig its cosequece before it occurs. So what measures could be take? These might iclude: iformatio ad/or traiig for all staff o the issue of bullyig ad what is ad is t acceptable behaviour; promotig a workplace culture which does ot uecessarily puish idividuals if somethig goes wrog, but istead uses the evet as a learig experiece for both them ad the orgaisatio together with a policy, systems ad procedures which promote positive behaviour ad tackle egative behaviour at its outset. Step 4 - record ad apply the fidigs The employer should record that the assessmet has bee doe, ad iclude the importat fidigs ad details of ay groups particularly at risk. Ay steps idetified to prevet or reduce the risk of bullyig must ow be applied. Step 5 - review the assessmet ad update it as ecessary Do the measures take appear to be workig? Has somethig happeed or has there bee some chage which meas a review is ecessary. How do staff feel? Maybe they could be surveyed. Alteratively have there bee ay complaits of bullyig behaviour? If so the the measures of prevetio ad cotrol will eed to be reviewed. 12
Negotiatig a policy o bullyig The first priority i dealig with bullyig is to elimiate it from the workplace. But dealig solely with the cosequeces of bullyig is ot a solutio because it wrogly focuses attetio o idividuals rather tha cocetratig o the culture that has allowed the bullyig to occur i the first place. To overcome this a joit policy o bullyig should be agreed. The policy should form a essetial part of ay approach to maagig bullyig at work ad will demostrate to all staff that the issue is beig take seriously. Procedures for dealig with complaits should be icluded. It is importat that the policy s focus is o bullyig behaviour rather tha o bullies. This approach recogises that ot all people who bully are bad, or do so kowigly. It avoids labellig people as bullies, which ca lead to coflict, especially if the perpetrator is ot beig dismissed. To deal with bullyig as a orgaisatioal issue it is importat for the policy to focus attetio o prevetig the uwated behaviour i geeral. If the policy just cocetrates o idividual acts of bullyig by amed idividuals, the uderlyig cause a maagemet culture of bullyig will ot be tackled. The policy should iclude the followig elemets: 1. A statemet of commitmet It should demostrate a clear commitmet o the part of the employer to tackle bullyig. It should make clear that bullyig will ot be tolerated ad complaits will be take seriously. It should spell out the rights of all staff to be treated with digity ad respect at work. 2. A defiitio A defiitio is eeded with examples of the types of behaviour that are cosidered uacceptable so that staff are clear o what will ot be tolerated. 3. Prevetio measures The policy should outlie the steps that employers will take to prevet workplace bullyig. It should iclude the steps take to reduce factors that cotribute to bullyig, such as bad maagemet practices or styles ad orgaisatioal cultures. 4. Duties of maagers ad supervisors The policy should be clear o the duties of maagers ad supervisors ad their resposibilities for prevetig or elimiatig bullyig. 5. Trade uio ivolvemet The role of safety represetatives should be made clear i the policy. They have a dual role, which icludes educatig members about bullyig as well as receivig complaits. Givig them equal status to maagers will promote partership workig ad build cofidece amog staff. 6. Cotact officers Some employees may fid it difficult to raise cocers about bullyig with their maager. This may be because the maager is the oe doig the bullyig or because the feeligs they experiece make it hard for them to speak out to ayoe. For this reaso, the policy should iclude details of a idepedet cotact officer to provide help ad support for those beig bullied. 7. Iformatio ad traiig Oce agreed, the policy should be widely publicised to all ew ad existig staff. It should also be brought to the attetio of outside cotractors, agecy staff, patiets, cliets, visitors ad so o. Outside cotractors should also comply with the policy ad its requiremets. A statemet of the policy should be icluded i all cotract specificatios. Iformatio about the policy ad the types of behaviour that will ot be tolerated should be icluded i health ad safety traiig ad i staff iductios etc. It is especially importat that maagers are icluded i ay traiig provided. This is because i may cases it is the maager or supervisor who is the bully. They should be made aware of what costitutes bullyig, what the policy is, ad what their resposibilities are i prevetig or elimiatig bullyig at work. 13
Bullyig at work guidelies Because of the safety represetative s ivolvemet i represetig both the bullied ad the bully they should be give equal traiig as well as time off to carry out this duty. The followig should be icluded i ay traiig programme o bullyig: details of the policy ad its implemetatio the meaig of bullyig, its causes ad effects the reportig procedures how ad where to get support the assistace available to those beig bullied. Procedure for complaits A procedure for complaits relatig to bullyig should be developed. This should ideally be separate from the usual grievace procedure. If this is ot possible the the ormal grievace procedure ca be used. However, the usual grievace procedure will ot always be sufficiet, as the facts of the case eed to be established i a sesitive way. I additio, the bullyig may be by the member s lie maager, who is ormally the perso a problem is raised with i the first istace i a grievace procedure. Whatever procedure is used, it should give the bully the opportuity to chage their behaviour, as some people are uaware that their behaviour i some circumstaces is bullyig. If it is clearly poited out to them that their behaviour is uacceptable, the problem ca sometimes be resolved. Where this is ot possible more formal measures may be eeded. The policy should therefore iclude a iformal ad formal procedure for dealig with bullyig complaits. Represetig a bullied member ad a alleged bully whe both are UNISON members All members are etitled to represetatio to esure that discipliary procedures are coducted fairly. If the perso beig bullied ad the alleged bully are members of the same brach they caot both be represeted by the same perso. Braches should develop a appropriate system of represetatio for these types of bullyig cases ad ca seek advice from their regioal office. Access to cousellig Bullyig ca affect a perso s metal ad physical well-beig. Cousellig may help workers cope better with the stress of beig bullied. Access to a idepedet, professioal cousellig service provided by traied cousellors should be available. This service should be strictly cofidetial. The availability of cousellig ad the procedures for referrals should be icluded i the policy ad publicised. Staff uder stress from beig bullied should be ecouraged to seek support. It should be made clear that this is ot see as a fault or weakess o the part of the idividual beig bullied. Cousellig should also be offered to those carryig out the bullyig. This is particularly useful if they do ot uderstad why their behaviour has bee foud uacceptable. Moitor ad review I commo with all health ad safety policies, the policy should be moitored ad reviewed regularly to esure that it is achievig its objectives ad remais effective. A copy of this policy ca also be foud at uiso. org.uk/safety The joit AoC ad uio workig party which icludes UNISON has produced a Natioal 14
Guidace agreemet o Harassmet ad Bullyig i Employmet i Further Educatio Colleges. A copy of this joit agreemet ca be foud at uiso.org.uk/educatio/further/pages_view. asp?did=7443 Checklist for safety represetatives Does the policy iclude: a commitmet from seior maagemet? acceptace that bullyig is a orgaisatioal issue? a statemet that bullyig is uacceptable ad will ot be tolerated? clear defiitios of uacceptable behaviour? a statemet that bullyig may be treated as a discipliary offece? steps to assess ad prevet bullyig? duties of heads of departmets ad supervisors? cofidetiality for complaiats whe they report bullyig? procedures to protect complaiats from victimisatio? procedures for ivestigatig complaits? iformal complaits procedure? formal complaits procedure? iformatio ad traiig about bullyig ad the policy? access to support ad idepedet cousellig? procedures for regular reviewig ad moitorig the policy? Ad: is it joitly agreed by the employer ad trade uio? does it cover everyoe, icludig cotractors? is it implemeted? is it widely publicised? is traiig provided for all staff icludig maagers ad supervisors? are details of the policy icluded i iductio health ad safety traiig courses? 15
Bullyig at work guidelies Safety represetatives rights The Safety Represetatives ad Safety Committees Regulatios 1977 give safety represetatives strog legal rights. Where the health ad safety of employees is cocered safety reps have the right to: cosult with members eg meetigs ad surveys o bullyig carry out ispectios eg i search of the problems idetified as causes of bullyig iformatio from employers of relevace here are the results of aoymous bullyig surveys, cosultats reports, sickess absece data, ad risk assessmet results cosultatio with maagemet i good time (ie well i advace of chages takig place) o work equipmet, the workplace, job cotet, hours of work, ad ay proposed chages to these the plaig ad itroductio of ew techologies icludig ew equipmet, ew computer software, ad the eed for subsequet traiig the appoitmet of competet persos, icludig iteral ad exteral professioals icludig idepedet cousellors. Those resposible for carryig out risk assessmets o bullyig will eed extra traiig ad the provisio of adequate time, resources, ad authority to take decisios health ad safety traiig for members icludig the maagemet of bullyig health ad safety iformatio: literature, leaflets, ad posters o bullyig for example, which the employer wishes to use. There are also rights to access facilities (a private room to talk to members ad the use of iteral mail systems to circulate a survey for istace) assistace, paid time off to carry out safety represetatives fuctios (meetigs with other safety represetatives or members for example) ad to atted UNISON or TUC traiig. More detailed guidace o the rights ad role of safety represetatives is available i UNISON s Guide for Safety Reps. What braches ca do Raise awareess of bullyig i geeral. This helps members who are beig bullied to recogise the fact. Also, some people who bully may ot be aware of the impact of their behaviour ad will chage i respose to a geeral campaig. Coduct a survey of the extet of bullyig experieced by members. This is oe of the best ways of idetifyig the scale ad extet of the problem. A draft survey ca be foud at the ed of this guide. Ecourage members to come forward ad report cases of bullyig ad orgaise meetigs so that members ca talk together about bullyig. Persuade safety represetatives ad stewards to respod positively to members cocers ad ecourage safety reps ad stewards to atted traiig sessios o bullyig. Negotiate a policy o bullyig ad harassmet with employers. Ecourage members to keep writte records of all bullyig icideces ad iform employers i writig that icidets are occurrig. This must be doe i a geeral way if a member has raised the issue with the uio i cofidece. Circulate UNISON material o bullyig to members ad o-members as this will help to raise bullyig as a workplace health ad safety issue ad ca help to recruit ad retai members. Also iclude articles o bullyig i brach magazies ad ewsletters. 16
Appedix A Braches ca use the followig survey to gather evidece o the scale ad extet of bullyig i the workplace. Draft brach bullyig survey Bullyig at work is persistet offesive, itimidatig, humiliatig behaviour, which attempts to udermie a idividual or group of employees. It ca take may forms, icludig shoutig at or humiliatig a idividual, especially i frot of colleagues; pickig o a idividual; udermiig someoe s ability to do their job; abusive or threateig behaviour which creates a stressful or itimidatig atmosphere. Such bullyig behaviour is a abuse of power ad a deial of our right to be treated with digity ad respect. Bullyig causes stress. It damages the health ad safety of staff ad adversely affects the quality of service provided. UNISON is cocered about the amout of bullyig that goes o at work. I order to covice maagemet that bullyig of staff is a serious problem ad that chages are eeded to elimiate bullyig, your UNISON brach is coductig this survey. We eed your views ad experieces o ay bullyig you face at work. Please help us to help you by aswerig the followig questios. Your replies will be treated as cofidetial (you will otice that you have ot bee asked to provide your ame). Where do you work? What is your job? (Give a descriptio if your job title would idetify you) Are you: Male Female Is bullyig at work: (Tick relevat box) A very serious problem? Yes No A serious problem? Yes No A mior problem? Yes No A o-existet problem? Yes No Have you ever bee bullied at this place of work? Yes No Are you curretly beig bullied? Yes No If yes, whe did the bullyig start? What are the mai sources of bullyig? From your lie maagers From seior maagers From colleagues From the public (cliets, patiets, customers ad so o) 17
Bullyig at work guidelies From visitors From cotractors staff Other (please state) What form does the bullyig take? (tick relevat box) Shoutig Threats Abuse Itimidatio Humiliatio Excessive criticism Settig urealistic targets or deadlies Alterig targets, deadlies ad so o Excessive work moitorig Keepig you out of thigs Victimisig you Malicious lies or rumours Refusig reasoable requests, such as for leave Other (please state) How ofte does the bullyig happe? (tick relevat box) Daily Weekly Mothly Less tha mothly Have you or other staff i your area ever had time off work because of bullyig? Yes No Have ay staff left their job because of bullyig at work i your area? Yes No If yes, how may? What do you thik causes bullyig? (tick relevat box) Stressed maagers Stressed colleagues Excessive workloads Pressure to meet deadlies Pressure to meet work targets Staff shortages Pressure ot to take sick leave Iadequate traiig for maagers Iadequate traiig for staff Poor maagemet Performace approach Other reasos (please state what they are) 18
What measures would you like to see to reduce bullyig? Do you have access to a cousellig service? Yes No If yes, how effective is it? (tick relevat box) Very effective Sometimes effective Useless Ay other commets? Thak you for completig this questioaire. Please retur it to the perso who gave you this survey. 19
Bullyig at work guidelies Further iformatio UNISON has produced a umber of publicatios that may be useful to braches or safety represetatives who are dealig with workplace bullyig. They ca be ordered usig the olie catalogue, or by emailig stockorders@uiso.co.uk Risk Assessmet: a guide for UNISON safety represetatives. Stock umber 1351. uiso.org.uk/acrobat/11190.pdf The health ad safety six pack: A guide to the six pack set of regulatios. Stock umber 1660. uiso.org.uk/acrobat/10349.pdf Safety represetatives ad safety committees. Stock umber 1819. uiso.org.uk/acrobat/11191.pdf Workig together o health & safety: A UNISON guide to partership agreemets. Stock umber 1890. uiso.org.uk/acrobat/11722.pdf Harassmet at Work egotiatig guidelies for safety represetatives ad stewards Stock umber 1359 Stress at Work a guide for safety reps. Stock umber 1725 Stressed out by Work? a leaflet for members ad potetial members. Stock umber 0848 Respect: a health guide Guidace for youg workers o bullyig ad harassmet at work. Stock umber 2530. uiso.org.uk/acrobat/b2738.pdf UNISON s health ad safety represetatives guide. Stock umber 1684. Violece at Work Guidelies for safety represetatives ad stewards. Stock umber 1346. Additioal health ad safety iformatio ad guidace ca be foud o the UNISON website at uiso.org.uk/safety Further related iformatio ca be foud o the followig web pages: The Members Participatio Uit (MPU) actively campaigs for equality i the workplace ad i the wider world ad provides guidace ad iformatio for UNISON braches o a wide rage of equality issues. These ca be foud at uiso.org.uk/equality UNISON s bargaiig support group provides fact sheets ad bargaiig guides o a wide rage of employmet issues. Details of agreemets are also collected ad held i the Bargaiig Iformatio System. All bargaiig support material ca be foud o the bargaiig zoe: uiso.org.uk/bargaiig Health ad Safety Executive Further health ad safety iformatio, publicatios ad advice ca be foud o the HSE website: hse.gov.uk/stress Advice If you have ay specific health ad safety queries, your brach health ad safety officer or brach secretary may be able to help you. If they are uable to aswer the query, they may pass the request to the regioal office or to the health ad safety uit at atioal office. UNISON s Health ad Safety Uit is at: 1 Mabledo Place, Lodo WC1H 9AJ, Tel: 020 7551 1156 Fax: 020 7551 1766 email: healthadsafety@uiso.co.uk Your commets UNISON welcomes commets o this booklet from brach safety officers ad safety reps. Either write or email to the health ad safety uit at the address above. 20
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Joi olie today at uiso.org.uk/joi or call 0845 355 0845 Desiged, prited ad published by UNISON Commuicatios, UNISON, 1 Mabledo Place, Lodo WC1H 9AJ CU/March2010/18989/STOCK No.1281/UNP ref:11058 www.uiso.org.uk 23