Approved and adopted by Gurnard Parish Council, 16 June 2016 – (minute number 6509), Reviewed no changes required 12 July 2017 Amended March 2021, reviewed March 2022
GURNARD PARISH COUNCIL
DIGNITY AT WORK/BULLYING AND HARASSMENT POLICY
1. Purpose and Scope.
In support of our value to respect others Gurnard Parish Council will not tolerate bullying or harassment by, or of, any of its employees, officials, members, contractors, visitors to the council or members of the public from the community which we serve. The Council is committed to the elimination of any form of intimidation in the workplace.
This policy reflects the spirit in which the Parish Council intends to undertake all of its business and outlines the specific procedures available to all employees in order to protect them from bullying and harassment. It should be read in conjunction with the Parish Council’s policies on Grievance and Disciplinary handling and the Elected Members Code of Conduct. The Parish Council will issue this policy to all employees as part of their induction and to all newly elected members. The Parish Council may also wish to share this policy with contractors, visitors and members of the public.
2. Definitions.
Bullying:
Bullying “Bullying may be characterised as a pattern of offensive, intimidating, malicious, insulting or humiliating behaviour; an abuse of this use of power or authority which tends to undermine an individual or a group of individuals, gradually eroding their confidence and capability, which may cause them to suffer stress.”
Harassment:
Harassment is “Unwanted conduct that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.” This usually covers, but is not limited to, harassment on the grounds of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, belief, disability or age.
These definitions are derived from the ACAS guidance on the topic. Bullying and Harassment are behaviours which are unwanted by the recipient. They are generally evidenced by a pattern of conduct, rather than being related to one-off incidents. Bullying and harassment in the workplace can lead to poor morale, low productivity and poor performance, sickness absence, mental health issues, lack of respect for others, turnover, damage to the Council’s reputation and ultimately, legal proceedings against the Council and payment of legal fees and potentially unlimited compensation.