Green Corridor Anti Bullying & Harassment Policy

Green Corridor Anti Bullying & Harassment Policy

Green Corridor Anti Bullying & Harassment Policy

Statement

Green Corridor believes that the working environment should at all times be supportive of the dignity and respect of individuals. If a complaint of bullying and or harassment is brought to the attention of management, it will be investigated promptly and appropriate action will be taken.

Most people use these terms interchangeably, and many definitions include bullying as a form of harassment.

Bullying

May be characterised as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.

Bullying or harassment may be by an individual against an individual (perhaps by someone in a position of authority such as a manager or supervisor) or involve groups of people. It may be obvious or it may be insidious. Whatever form it takes, it is unwarranted and unwelcome to the individual.

Bullying and harassment are not necessarily face-to-face. They may also occur in written communications, email, phone, and automatic supervision methods such as computer recording of downtime from work or the number of calls handled if these are not applied to all workers.

Bullying and harassment make someone feel anxious and humiliated. Feelings of anger and frustration at being unable to cope may be triggered. Some people may try to retaliate in some way. Others may become frightened and demotivated. Stress, loss of self-confidence and self-esteem caused by harassment or bullying can lead to job insecurity, illness, and absence from work, and even resignation. Almost always job performance is affected and relations in the workplace suffer.

Harassment

In general terms it is unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of men and women in the workplace. It may be related to age, sex, race, disability, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or any personal characteristic of the individual, and may be persistent or an isolated incident. The key is that the actions or comments are viewed as demeaning and unacceptable to the recipient.

Sexual harassment is defined as “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, or other conduct based on sex, affecting the dignity of women and men at work”. This can include unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct. People can be subject to harassment on a wide variety of grounds including:

Race, ethnic origin, nationality or skin colour

Sex or sexual orientation

Religious or political convictions

Willingness to challenge harassment, leading to victimisation

Disabilities, sensory impairments or learning difficulties

Status as ex-offenders

Age

Real or suspected infection with a blood borne virus (e.g. AIDS/HIV)

Membership of a trade union or activities associated with membership

Forms may include

Physical contact ranging from touching to serious assault

Verbal and written harassment through jokes, offensive language, gossip and slander, sectarian songs, letters and so on

Visual display of posters, graffiti, obscene gestures, flags and emblems

Isolation or non-cooperation at work, exclusion from social activities

Coercion ranging from pressure for sexual favours to pressure to participate in political/religious groups

Intrusion by pestering, spying, following someone

Bullying

What Should I Do if Subject to Bullying

If you feel you are being bullied and or harassed you are strongly encouraged to seek early advice/support from your line manager. If you feel your line manager is harassing you, then you should contact his / her immediate line manager.

You should also keep a written record detailing the incidents of harassment and any requests made to the harasser to stop. This written record should be made as soon as possible after the events giving rise to concern and should include dates, times, places and the circumstances of what happened.

Green Corridor has a formal procedure for dealing with these issues, which you can obtain from your line manager.

The Young Person

Some young people who are being bullied or harassed try to ignore what is happening in the hope that it will go away. But if dealing with bullying was as simple as just ignoring it, then nobody would ever be bullied!

If you are being bullied you must talk to someone you trust about this. This may be a member of the Green Corridor delivery team or may some other trusted adult who can talk to the Green Corridor staff on your behalf. When describing what has happened to you, don’t exaggerate. If anything you say turns out not to be true it throws everything else into doubt. When you speak to a member of the Green Corridor delivery team or other trusted adult, remember five things:

Make sure that the member of the Green Corridor delivery team or other trusted adult understands how upset you are and that, to you, the matter is not trivial

Tell the member of the Green Corridor delivery team or other trusted adult that you want to know about any action he or she proposes to take. If something is suggested and you think it will make things worse, you should say so, and explain why it will not help

Be prepared to help by making your own suggestions about what should happen. Young people have the right to expect their worries to be treated seriously, to be given the help they need and to be fully involved in discussions about any action that is to be taken

Remember that although certain aspects of what you tell an adult can be treated confidentially, there are some things which may be discussed with another trusted professional in order to ensure the safety and well-being of those involved

Also remember that the member of the Green Corridor delivery team or other trusted adult may not go into detail with you about any punishment or additional support the bully is to receive. The important thing is that the situation is addressed so that the bullying behaviour stops

Young people can help each other in a number of ways. The most important thing is simply to be there if someone needs to talk, to share feelings, and to encourage the person to talk about good times as well as bad. You could offer to go with the person to talk over the problem with a member of the member of the Green Corridor delivery team or other trusted adult.

In more general terms, it is important that young people are aware how certain actions and attitudes can have a distressing effect on others. All young people should be careful that their actions do not upset others, and they should make attempts to include those pupils who may normally be left out, both in Green Corridor activities and during meal times.

Getting Help, Advice & Information

Young people up to the age of 18 who are being bullied, or who know someone who is being bullied, can call the ChildLine Bullying Line on 0800 44 11 11 for advice and/or counselling. This is a Freephone service available Monday to Friday from 3.30 pm – 9.30 pm.

Outside those hours the main ChildLine number 0800 11 11 should be contacted. This is open 24 hours a day.

(Last reviewed 2nd March 2015)

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