Victimisation & Harassment

Summary

The Isle of Man Post Office responded to a Freedom of Information request regarding employee victimisation and harassment statistics over the last five years, confirming that all formal complaints are investigated and providing specific counts of cases, disciplinary actions, and staff departures.

Key Facts

• All formal complaints of victimisation and harassment are investigated by the authority.
• Two cases resulted in disciplinary action against offenders over the five-year period.
• One staff member reported victimisation and harassment as a contributing factor to leaving the organization.
• Managers who conceal reported incidents would be dealt with under the disciplinary policy.
• Copies of the relevant Bullying, Harassment and Victimisation policies were attached to the response.

Data Disclosed

• 2016/17 – 1 case
• 2017/18 – 1 case
• 2018/19 – 2 cases
• 2019/20 – 1 case
• 2020/21 – 2 cases
• 2 disciplinary actions
• 1 staff departure
• 2021-06-28
• 2021-07-15
• 1873791

Original Request

The IOMPO has a legal duty of care towards its employees. How many cases of Victimisation & Harassment have been reported by staff to management over the last 5 years? split by each year. How many of these cases were investigated? How many resulted in disciplinary action against the offenders? How many staff have reported Victimisation & Harassment as a contributing factor to them leaving the IOMPO? Would a manager that concealed Victimisation & Harassment reported to him/her be dealt with under the disciplinary policy? Can you provide a copy of any relevant Victimisation & Harassment or similar policies and procedures that the IOMPO would use?

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

Postal Headquarters Spring Valley Industrial Estate Douglas Isle of Man, 1M2 IAA

Switchboard: +44 (0)1624 698400 Telephone: +44 (0)1624 698402 Fax: +44 (0)1624 698406 Email: foi@iompost.com Web: www.iompost.com

Our ref: 1873791 15 July 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 28 June 2021 and which states:

The IOMPO has a legal duty of care towards its employees.

1. How many cases of Victimisation & Harassment have been reported by staff to management over the last 5 years? split by each year.
2. How many of these cases were investigated?
3. How many resulted in disciplinary action against the offenders?
4. How many staff have reported Victimisation & Harassment as a contributing factor to them leaving the IOMPO?
5. Would a manager that concealed Victimisation & Harassment reported to him/her be dealt with under the disciplinary policy?
6. Can you provide a copy of any relevant Victimisation & Harassment or similar policies and procedures that the IOMPO would use?

Our response to your request is as follows and I have enclosed copies of the policies and procedures that are being released to you.

1. How many cases of Victimisation & Harassment have been reported by staff to management over the last 5 years? split by each year.
    2016/17 – 1  2017/18 – 1  2018/19 – 2  2019/20 – 1  2020/21 – 2
2. How many of these cases were investigated? All formal complaints are investigated.
3. How many resulted in disciplinary action against the offenders? Two
4. How many staff have reported Victimisation & Harassment as a contributing factor to them leaving the IOMPO? One
5. Would a manager that concealed Victimisation & Harassment reported to him/her be dealt with under the disciplinary policy? Yes
6. Can you provide a copy of any relevant Victimisation & Harassment or similar policies and procedures that the IOMPO would use?" Attached

Please quote the reference number 1873791 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

FOI Co-ordinator

BULLYING, HARASSMENT AND VICTIMISATION

The Isle of Man Post Office is committed to ensuring that everyone can work in an environment free from any form of harassment, and can be treated with dignity and respect. It is every employee’s responsibility to reflect this commitment.

We will not tolerate harassment of employees in any form.

Prevention of Bullying, Harassment and Victimisation at Work Policy

Part one

Purpose

To establish and communicate Isle of Man Post Office’s policy with regard to bullying, harassment and victimisation. This document also sets out guidance to support the policy which includes guidance on the type of behaviour that is deemed to be bullying, harassment or victimisation and gives a recommended framework for reporting and managing it.

Scope

The requirements of this policy cover everyone that comes into contact with those involved in the activities directly within the control of the Isle of Man Post Office

The Policy

Bullying, harassment or victimisation in an organisation can create distress and dissatisfaction that can impact on the working environment and individual’s effectiveness at work. If left unmanaged further problems can arise such as:

 Low morale and a lack of team spirit  General air of unpleasantness  Absenteeism  High staff turnover  Reduced performance of individuals and the organisation The Policy Statement: The Isle of Man Post Office is committed to promoting equal opportunities and is actively seeking to maintain an environment where there is fairness, equal opportunity, mutual respect, trust and confidence. In such an environment bullying, harassment or victimisation shall neither be condoned nor tolerated.

Allegations of bullying, harassment or victimisation will be treated very seriously and could result in disciplinary action being taken against the person(s) responsible. Serious cases of bullying, harassment or victimisation may constitute gross misconduct and could lead to dismissal. People who express concern with regard to the conduct of another person or persons will have their concerns investigated promptly and will not be victimised as a result.

All complaints of bullying harassment or victimisation will be assumed to have been made in good faith unless there is evidence to the contrary. However, it is important that people understand that allegations that are found to be malicious or vexatious will result in disciplinary action being taken against any person making such a complaint.

The following guiding principles are those that will be applied to this policy:

 Informal complaints will be dealt with in confidence with the aim of resolving the situation and preventing escalation  Counselling, support and mediation will be offered through the Human Resources department, to both the complainant and the person responsible.  Formal complaints should be made and investigated in accordance with the process outlined in Part 2 of this document  All parties will be required to co-operate with the investigation  Victimisation of individuals who have accused or been accused of inappropriate behaviour or are involved in the investigation will not be tolerated  The Post Office reserves the right to report any complaints of alleged unlawful behaviour to the appropriate enforcing authority

All employees have a responsibility to be aware of what constitutes bullying, harassment and victimisation, take positive steps to conduct themselves appropriately and discourage and challenge it whenever it occurs. All managers and supervisors have the added responsibility of ensuring that all their staff are aware and understand what constitutes bullying, harassment and victimisation and the consequences of contravening the policy. Any manager or supervisor who fails to address a breach of the policy may be subject to a disciplinary or capability action.

All employees, particularly department managers and line managers must ensure that all forms of bullying, harassment or victimisation are challenged as soon as they are identified. It should be made clear that such behaviour is not acceptable and where appropriate will be treated under the relevant regulation as a disciplinary matter or dealt with under Part 2 of this policy.

Investigation of complaints of bullying, harassment or victimisation will be dealt with seriously, promptly, fairly and sensitively with due regard for the rights of both the complainant and the alleged bully/harasser. Sexual harassment may be deemed to be sexual discrimination under the Isle of Man Employment (Sex Discrimination) Act 2000. The Act provides that a complaint of harassment should be submitted to the Employment Tribunal within 3 months of the occurrence of the alleged discriminatory act.

Whenever possible any employee (the complainant) who believes that he/she is being bullied, harassed or victimised should, in the first instance, make it clear to the person(s) responsible that such behaviour is unwelcome and unacceptable and ask that it ceases. If the complainant feels that he/she cannot approach the individual or group concerned, or if this approach has been tried and has failed to remedy the situation, he/she should speak to his/her line manager on an informal basis or a more senior manager where the line manager is the subject of the complaint. Further guidance on this stage and making the complaint more formal is contained in Part 2 of this document. Guidance is also available in Part 2 on how to manage a situation where either the complainant or the person(s) responsible is not an employee.

BULLYING, HARASSMENT OR VICTIMISATION - EXPLANATION OF TERMS

Bullying

Bullying and harassment can take a variety of different forms ranging from repeatedly ignoring a colleague or subjecting them to unwelcome attention, to intimidation, humiliation, ridicule or offence. More extreme forms of harassment and bullying include physical threats or violence. Harassment and bullying may consist of a single incident or a series of incidents. Behaviour that may appear trivial as a single incident, can constitute bullying or harassment when repeated. Harassment and bullying may not always be intentional, but is always unacceptable, whether intentional or not.

Bullying for the purposes of this policy means conduct which has some or all of the following elements: Offensive, hostile, abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, or abuse of position which makes the recipient(s) feel frightened, upset, threatened, humiliated or vulnerable, or which undermines their self-confidence and causes them distress.

Examples of bullying:  Verbal or physical threats or actual violence;  Shouting at employees in public or in private;  Ridiculing, demeaning or humiliating a person in front of others:  Systematically undermining a competent worker through overloading or excessive or repeated criticism or negative comments;  “Flying off the handle” often over trivial matters;  Making offensive or abusive personal remarks about a person;  Excluding, deliberately ignoring, non-cooperation with, or victimising a person;  Spreading malicious rumours or making false allegations;  Sending abusive or inappropriate emails;  Copying memoranda or emails that are critical about a person to others who do not need to know;  Intrusion through pestering, spying or stalking;  Overbearing supervision or other misuse of power or position;  Giving repeated unreasonable assignments or duties which are obviously unfavourable to one individual;  Giving repeated impossible deadlines, or impossible tasks, or setting someone up to fail;  Making threats or implied threats or comments about job security without foundation;  Preventing a person progressing by intentionally blocking promotion or training opportunities.

The above list is not exhaustive. However, it should be noted that constructive and fair criticism of an employee’s conduct or work performance does not constitute bullying. Poor work performance must be dealt with through the application of appropriate procedures and not through an aggressive management style or isolating individuals. Managers must not actively discourage employees from seeking the advice of a trade union representative should they wish to do so.

Bullying, harassment or victimisation at work can affect the working environment and create distress within the organisation. It damages and demeans the individuals being treated in such a manner, that their morale, health, job performance, attendance, career prospects and job security can be affected. It transcends grades and can be experienced from Manager to subordinate, subordinate to Manager, peer to peer, or from one group of employees to another individual. Its effect can also affect an office, Department or Division as a whole leading to:

 Low morale and a lack of team spirit;  A general air of unpleasantness;  Employees leaving or requesting transfers – the reasons given may be plausible but this may be due to employees being unwilling to admit that they are being bullied or that the bullying is having an adverse effect upon them.

Harassment

Harassment for the purposes of this policy means:

(a) Any unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of people involved in the activities of the Post Office. It includes unwelcome verbal, non-verbal and physical conduct. It may be related to age, sex, race, disability, sexuality, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, 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 perceived as demeaning and unacceptable to the recipient. (b) Any interaction between two or more people which is acceptable to both parties will nevertheless be considered harassment if it causes harassment or offence to others.

It is the impact of the unwelcome behaviour on the individual that determines harassment rather than the intention of the alleged harasser. However, in an attempt to deal quickly with trivial or mischievous complaints, when determining whether the alleged conduct is unacceptable, investigating officers should make an assessment of whether a reasonable, fair-minded person, would find it so.

Examples of harassment

Racial Harassment can take the form of racial abuse, racially explicit derogatory statements, offensive jokes, racist graffiti, display of offensive material, an offensive or dismissive manner, or any other form of abuse which is on the grounds of an individual’s race, colour, cultural differences, ethnic origin, creed and/or nationality. It can also occur when rules, regulations or criticisms are applied to an ethnic member of staff in a way they are not applied to others.

Sexual Harassment means unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or conduct based on sex which is offensive to the recipient. It refers to behaviour that is unsolicited, that is persona

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