Dignity and Respect Policy and Procedure
| Version control information heading | Details |
| Owner | Directorate of People, Culture & Wellbeing |
| Author | Rachael Simpson, Associate Director of People Operations |
| Approved by | People Committee |
| Date of approval of this version | 14 November 2023 |
| Next review date | 14 November 2026 |
| Applicable statutory, legal, or national best practice requirements |
Equality Act 2010 The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 ACAS Managing Bullying and Harassment at Work - A guide for managers and employers ACAS Managing Bullying and Harassment at Work - A guide for employees Public Sector Equality Duty Harassment Act 1997 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 |
| Equality impact assessment completion date | 9 June 2023 |
Policy
1. Introduction / Policy Statement
1.1 To deliver the University’s vision, we must ensure that all members of our shared University community are treated fairly and with dignity and respect. We recognise that everyone in our community is central to achieving our vision and we are committed to developing our organisational culture where we value diversity, respect academic freedom and individual differences and value and support the contribution of all members, within an inclusive work and learning environment.
1.2 The aims of the Dignity and Respect Policy are to:
1.2.1 Support and sustain a positive and safe work and learning environment for all, free from any form of inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour;
1.2.2 Make it clear that discrimination, harassment, and bullying are unacceptable and that all members of the University community have a role to play in creating an environment for everyone that is free from unacceptable and unfair treatment;
1.2.3 Provide a framework for respect and good conduct to prevent and eliminate all forms of bullying and harassment;
1.2.4 Highlight the options and support available to employees and students who feel they are or have been subject to bullying, harassment, discrimination, or any other inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour;
1.2.5 Provide a mechanism by which complaints can, wherever possible, be addressed in an informal and timely way;
1.2.6 Set out the responsibilities for managing and supporting employees and students when concerns are raised under the policy in order to develop a culture where individuals feel safe to raise their concerns, including supporting them to make a formal complaint if appropriate.
1.3 All members of the University community have the right to expect professional behaviour from others. Bullying, harassment and victimisation could be deemed unlawful or even a criminal offence. Any forms of these behaviours will not be tolerated by the University.
2. Scope
2.1 This policy applies to all students, employees, contractors, suppliers and visitors to the University. The University expects all members of the University community to behave professionally and to treat each other with respect, courtesy and consideration.
3. Framework / Definitions
3.1 This section provides definitions of dignity, respect, bullying, harassment, and victimisation. Further details, together with some illustrative examples of the types of behaviour which may constitute bullying, harassment, discrimination, and victimisation are provided within the Guidance to enable an informed judgement about whether a particular type of behaviour falls within the scope of this policy. Inappropriate and/or unacceptable behaviour may come from an individual or a team/peer group.
3.2 Dignity
To treat someone with dignity is to treat them in a way that is respectful of them as valued individuals.
3.3 Respect
Respect is to be mindful and considerate of the feelings, wishes, needs, opinions and rights of others.
3.4 Bullying
Whilst there is no legal definition of bullying, ACAS defines bullying as ‘offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient’. Bullying can take many forms and can create a threatening or intimidating environment.
3.5 Harassment
3.5.1 The Equality Act 2010 defines harassment as ‘unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the individual or violating the individual’s dignity’. The protected characteristics include, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.
3.5.2 The University recognises harassment on the grounds of membership/non-membership of a trade union, status as an ex-offender and social and economic disadvantage.
3.5.3 The Equality Act 2010 offers protection in relation to:
I. Direct Discrimination which can occur when a rule or policy disadvantages someone because of their particular characteristic;
II. Indirect Discrimination which can occur where a rule or policy that applies to everyone but disadvantages someone with a particular protected characteristic;
III. Discrimination by Association is direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic;
IV. Discrimination by Perception is direct discrimination against someone because it is thought that they possess a particular protected characteristic;
V. Harassment by a third party – employees are potentially liable for harassment of their staff by people they don’t employ.
3.5.4 The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 prohibits harassment by making it a criminal offence.
3.6 Victimisation
Victimisation occurs when an individual is treated differently because they have made or supported a complaint or raised a grievance under the Equality Act 2010, or because they are suspected of doing so; however, they are not protected from victimisation if they have maliciously made or supported an untrue complaint.
4. Responsibilities
4.1 All Members of the University Community
4.1.1 All members of the University community are expected to treat each other with respect, courtesy and consideration at all times and have a personal responsibility for complying with this policy and demonstrating active commitment to it by treating others with dignity and respect, discouraging any form of discrimination and harassment by suitably challenging inappropriate behaviour, making it clear that such behaviour is unacceptable and raising concerns with managers where appropriate so that issues can be dealt with.
4.2 Managers
4.2.1 Managers are responsible for ensuring that staff are aware of their personal and professional responsibilities under this policy and understand the standards of behaviour expected by the University, taking timely and appropriate action when required in accordance with this policy and seeking professional advice as necessary.
4.2.2 Managers are responsible for ensuring that any documentation that they hold associated with this policy is managed in accordance with GDPR requirements, including the removal of documentation from files upon expiry.
4.3 People Services
4.3.1 People Services is responsible for overseeing the application and operation of this policy, ensuring that the policy and procedure is applied fairly, consistently, and effectively.
4.3.2 People Services will provide advice and guidance to line managers and employees on the policy and procedure and reasonable adjustments and will work with line managers to ensure that complaints are addressed promptly and in good faith and that there are no unreasonable delays in arranging meetings and reaching and confirming decisions.
4.3.3 People Services is responsible for ensuring that formal notices and complaint documentation is removed from personal files upon expiry in accordance with record retention activities and GDPR requirements.
4.3.4 People Services is responsible for the notification of any updates to this policy and for identifying and providing appropriate training, guidance, and support to line managers to support the implementation of this policy.
4.3.5 People Services will monitor and review the application and effectiveness of this policy and procedure and produce an annual report specifying the number of dignity and respect cases and identifying any patterns/trends.
5. General Principles
5.1 Values
This policy will be implemented in accordance with the University values, excellence, inclusion, innovation and trust.
5.2 Application
5.2.1 The application of this policy will be undertaken in a manner that ensures confidentiality of the issues and of the individual. The University reserves the right to seek advice from or involve appropriate external authorities if it believes that it is under an obligation to do so.
5.2.2 Reasonable adjustments will be accommodated to ensure appropriate support throughout the procedure in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.
5.2.3 Any person against whom a complaint has been made under this policy has the right to know the nature and sufficient details of the complaint in order to respond. Prior to a formal hearing, there should be full disclosure of all the evidence. No decision will be taken until the complaint has been investigated and the person against who the complaint has been made has had the opportunity to respond.
5.2.4 Both the complainant and the person against whom a complaint has been made may be accompanied to meetings by a trade union representative or a work colleague. If an employee is required to attend a formal hearing under this policy, they have the right to be represented by a Trade Union representative or a university work colleague. Where identified as a reasonable adjustment, individuals may also be accompanied by another agreed individual.
5.2.5 If allegations are made against an employee who is also a Trade Union representative, the relevant Full Time Officer will be informed as soon as the complaint/allegation(s) are raised. The Full-Time officer may represent the employee at any stage of formal procedures and/or accompany the employee during the preceding investigation.
5.2.6 Complaints should be made in a timely fashion (normally immediately after the incident or at the latest within three months of the most recent incident or occurrence of the behaviour).
5.2.7 Once a complaint is made, or allegations come to light, it must be investigated thoroughly and promptly with no unreasonable delays.
5.2.8 Malicious, vexatious, or false allegations/complaints will be taken very seriously and may lead to disciplinary action being taken against the employee raising such allegations.
5.2.9 A complainant may withdraw their complaint at any point during the informal or formal stage of the procedure. In such circumstances, the line manager will seek to identify and clarify the reason for the withdrawal. The University may be obliged to continue to investigate and act upon the matters raised.
5.2.10 Following the completion of any formal procedures under this policy, all documentation will be stored confidentially in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Formal warnings and associated documentation will be removed from personal files upon expiry in accordance with record retention activities and GDPR requirements.
Procedure
6. Dignity and Respect Procedure
The aim of the procedure is to deal with issues raised under this policy in a supportive and constructive manner and to resolve matters as quickly as possible.
i. Wherever possible and appropriate, every effort should be made to resolve issues and concerns informally using an informal approach.
ii. In cases where an informal/early resolution approach has not resolved the issue, employees may raise their concerns formally.
iii. In circumstances where the alleged behaviour is deemed by the line manager, in consultation with the relevant People Business Partner, to be sufficiently serious to warrant a formal approach, the formal procedure should be followed.
6.1 Initial Advice
6.1.1 In the first instance, where appropriate, unacceptable behaviour should be dealt with informally. An individual who believes that they are being bullied, harassed, or victimised may wish to seek advice and support before taking the matter further. The University provides a number of specialised services which are available to provide advice and to support all parties involved in a dignity and respect concern, further details of which can be found in the Guidance. Individuals can also seek advice and support from Trade Union representatives and/or the Students Union.
6.1.2 Any individual who witnesses bullying, harassment or victimisation should raise this with their line manager, another appropriate senior manager, their Personal Academic Tutor or another appropriate member of staff, or a member of People Services, as soon as possible.
6.1.3 Report and Support: If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination, gender-based violence, hate or micro-aggressions, or have a safeguarding concern, you can report it with your contact details or anonymously using the Report and Support tool at https://reportandsupport.bradford.ac.uk/. This does not replace the informal approach of this policy as detailed in section 6.2, however provides an alternative method to report concerns and a way to report anonymously if you wish. Making this report is just a first step and does not initiate any formal processes.
6.2 First Stage - Informal Approach
Wherever possible, every effort must be made to resolve the matter informally. There are a number of informal routes that may be explored which are detailed below.
6.2.1 Personal Action
6.2.1.1 If an individual feels that they have been or are being harassed, bullied or victimised they are encouraged to raise the matter with the person(s) concerned as soon as practicable. Asking the person concerned to stop this behaviour at an early stage may be sufficient to end the behaviour. In some cases, it may be that the individual is not aware that the behaviour is inappropriate, or it may be the case that the individual’s behaviour is being misinterpreted.
6.2.1.2 Examples of personal action include:
i. Keeping a note of the details of the incident and the names of any witnesses to assist with informal conversations and written correspondence with the person(s) concerned;
ii. A conversation with, or written correspondence to, the person(s) concerned which explains what aspect of their behaviour is considered to be unacceptable and a request that they stop behaving in this way.
6.2.2 Facilitated Discussion
6.2.2.1 Where an individual feels unable to raise and explore a resolution to a dignity and respect concern on a one-to-one basis with the other party it may be appropriate to explore a facilitated discussion. A facilitated discussion involves an individual such as an employee’s line manager, or a manager in the line management structure, facilitating an informal discussion, in a safe, professional environment, between both parties with an aim of reaching a resolution on the concerns raised.
6.2.3 Mediation
6.2.3.1 Mediation is a voluntary process where an impartial third party assists two individuals to work through issues of conflict or disagreement with the aim of improving the working relationship. The focus within mediation is on moving forward rather than attribution of blame. As mediation is a voluntary process, employees have a choice as to whether they wish to participate. Where individuals agree to mediation, they should engage in the process in a positive and constructive manner with a view to achieving resolution.
6.2.3.2 The University has a network of external and internal impartial trained mediators who can be engaged at an early stage to assist with issues of conflict, including issues that would be considered under this policy. More information on mediation can be obtained from the Mediation Guidance available on SharePoint.
6.2.4 Outcome of Informal Approach
6.2.4.1 If inappropriate behaviour continues after the individual has highlighted their concerns with the relevant people on an informal basis, or in circumstances where an informal/early resolution approach has not resolved the issue, they should raise their concerns formally.
6.2.4.2 Individuals should be informed of the outcome of any informal/early resolution approach and advised that, where the issue has not been resolved, the issue can be raised formally.
6.2.4.3 Formal concerns should be raised with either their line manager, if appropriate, another senior manager if this would be more appropriate, the People Business Partner or Student Services.
6.3 Second Stage – Formal Procedure
6.3.1 A formal complaint should be made in writing in a timely fashion (normally immediately after the incident or at the latest within three months of the most recent incident or occurrence of the behaviour). If there is good reason, this timeframe could be extended, for example where a complainant does not feel able to make a complaint without initial support or counselling.
6.3.2 Complaints should clearly state the allegation(s) and contain enough detail to support the allegation(s) to allow an investigation to be initiated. The written complaint should include the following information:
I. Details of any informal resolution that has been attempted;
II. Any evidence supporting the allegations made, e.g., emails;
III. Names of any employees who may be approached to provide evidence of the alleged unacceptable behaviour.
6.3.3 Formal complaints relating to alleged bullying and harassment by employees against another employee(s), students or external parties will be dealt with in accordance with the University Grievance Procedure or University Disciplinary Procedure, as appropriate.
6.3.4 Formal complaints relating to alleged bullying and harassment by students against employees, students or external parties will be dealt with in accordance with the Student Complaints Procedure or Student Disciplinary Procedure, as appropriate.
6.3.5 In circumstances where an employee is also a student and vice versa, upon receipt of a formal complaint and following advice from People Services, consideration will be given to whether the complaint pertains to behaviour as a student or as an employee. The complainant will be advised in writing of the appropriate procedure that will be followed to deal with their complaint.
6.3.6 Complaints against external parties such as contractors, consultants and visitors should be made to an individual’s line manager or equivalent manager or Personal Academic Tutor in the first instance. The line manager, equivalent manager or Personal Academic Tutor should seek to establish from the individual the nature and circumstances of the complaint prior to referring the complaint to the appropriate Head of School/Head of Service to enable them to engage with the external party. The external party should be provided with a copy of the complaint and asked to respond to this. The Head of School/Head of Service will form a view as to what further action may be required including whether any further investigation is necessary.
6.3.7 Complaints by external parties should be raised via the University’s External Complaints Procedure available on the University website.
7. Appendices
7.1 Appendix One: Dignity and Respect Procedure Flowchart
The flowchart will be added to this webpage in the near future.
7.2 Appendix Two: Dignity and Respect Guidance
This guidance supports the implementation of the Dignity and Respect Policy and Procedure and provides information on good practice. This guidance is not University policy and does not form part of employees' terms and conditions of employment.