Everyone's Invited - How Does the Movement Affect Charity Employers?
In light of the Everyone's Invited movement, we look at some of the key ways charity employers can prevent workplace harassment, deal with complaints and ensure their staff and volunteers feel safe in the workplace.
Whilst the current focus of the Everyone's Invited movement is on schools, colleges and universities in relation to peer on peer sexual abuse, it clearly represents part of a wider societal focus on harassment issues.
These issues transcend the workplace but charities need to be live to their obligation as employers to prevent sexual harassment and their duty of care to staff and volunteers.
Charities should therefore be doing everything they can as employers to reduce workplace harassment and deal with any complaints that do arise effectively. Providing a safe and respectful working environment is part of the wider safeguarding duty that all charities must adhere to.
Read our other update for more information about how charities should respond.
How Should Charity Employers be Dealing with Sexual Harassment Complaints From Staff?
The Equality Act 2010 states that harassment occurs when one person engages in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or related to a relevant protected characteristic (age, race, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or disability) and it has the purpose or effect of violating the recipients dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
Policy
Firstly, it is important that charities have suitable policies in place in relation to Equal Opportunities and Dignity at Work to ensure that staff and volunteers understand what harassment is, how is can be reported and what the charity will do if a complaint is received.
Policies should provide clear examples of the type of behaviour that constitutes harassment. Harassment can take many forms from inappropriate jokes and banter, displaying to images around the workplace to uninvited physical contact, rumour-spreading and assault. Some acts of harassment might also seem innocuous, but it is important to view them in the full context of the complaint as a persistent series of small gestures can be intimidating - particularly if the recipient has made it clear the gestures are unwanted and has asked for them to stop.
Staff Training
It is essential that all staff receive training on the policies to build an anti-harassment culture within the charity and for all staff to understand the effect of harassment on those who experience it. Training can assist staff and volunteers in identifying behaviour that could amount to harassment and to reflect on how their conduct could be interpreted by others.
It is important that refresher training is carried out at regular intervals (at least annually) to remind staff of the importance of these issues and the seriousness with which the charity approaches them. This should encourage staff and volunteers to feel confident to report their concerns without fear of suffering detriment or victimisation.
Being able to demonstrate that the charity has effective anti-harassment training in place can also assist the charity in presenting the 'reasonable steps' defence if an employee knowingly harasses a colleague notwithstanding the clear training that they have been provided to ensure that they know that such conduct is unacceptable. Training should make it clear that it the collective responsibility of all staff members to report harassment and that 'turning a blind eye' particularly at management level is not an option.
Detecting Harassment
Putting in place opportunities to detect harassment is also recommended such as having an open door policy, a designated person to report harassment to, raising the issue at one to ones, return to work meetings after periods of absence and at exit interviews. Charities should also conduct an assessment of risks relating to harassment and victimisation. Existing risk management frameworks used for health & safety could be repurposed and used to identify risk factors such as lone working and CCTV black spots in areas where a staff member could be vulnerable.
When a complaint is made it is vital that it is dealt with promptly, efficiently and with sensitivity. It must be properly investigated and issues of confidentiality considered. The charity will need to assign a suitably experienced manager, HR professional or external consultant to carry out the investigation. It is good practice to take a full account of the harassment without challenge or judgement.
It will then be for the investigator to interview any relevant witnesses including the alleged harasser and to review any other relevant evidence such as emails, messages and CCTV. Consideration should be given to putting in place measures to protect both the complainant and the alleged harasser whilst the investigation is ongoing. This may involve one or both temporarily undertaking different duties or taking agreed leave. Suspension may also be appropriate subject to the severity of the complaint and the weight of evidence.
The investigator should compile a factual report for consideration by the charity's management or, where the complaint involves a senior manager, it may be appropriate for the board of trustees to take conduct of the process and determine what action should be taken.
If the complaint is upheld, the charity will need to ensure that appropriate action is taken. This is likely to involve disciplinary action in relation to the harasser and steps to ensure that the complainant does not face victimisation. It is important that the charity keeps a record of the complaint and the action taken. Consideration should also be given to whether the complaint amounts to a serious incident requiring a report to be made to the Charity Commission.