HR Advisory Unit, CYPL Directorate, 2nd Floor, Silverlink North, Cobalt business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT GUIDANCE NOTE

(COMMUNITY SCHOOLS)

Bullying and Harassment Guidance Note for Employees – January 2009

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HR Advisory Unit, CYPL Directorate, 2nd Floor, Silverlink North, Cobalt business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY

Contents 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

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Introduction Principles Defining Bullying 3.1 Examples of Bullying Defining Harassment 4.1 Examples of Harassment Employees who feel they are being Bullied and/or Harassed 5.1 Employees who Witness Bullying and/or Harassment 5.2 Line Managers’ Responsibilities 5.3 Employees who have been Accused of Bullying and/or Harassment Where Informal Resolution has Failed or is not Appropriate Malicious Accusations of Bullying and/or Harassment Other Support

Bullying and Harassment Guidance Note for Employees – January 2009

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HR Advisory Unit, CYPL Directorate, 2nd Floor, Silverlink North, Cobalt business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY

Guidance Note 1 101

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This document provides guidance for employees of North Tyneside Council working in a school under the delegation arrangements contained within the Local Management of Schools Scheme. It is applicable to individuals under a contract of service or apprenticeship whether full time, part time, permanent or temporary. This policy does not apply to individuals based at the School under a contract for service/third party arrangements or individuals employed by the Council whose employment relationship is not directly managed by the School. This document has been produced to give advice to employees in school, including those who feel they may be experiencing bullying and/or harassment, those who may have witnessed bullying and/or harassment, those who may have been accused of bullying and/or harassment and individuals who may deal with instances of bullying and/or harassment. 2

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It is vital that instances of bullying and/or harassment should be resolved informally wherever possible, however, if this is unsuccessful, the issue should be dealt with using the School‟s Grievance Policy & Procedure. It is expected that where concerns relating to bullying and/or harassment are raised that these concerns will be resolved in a timely manner. Whilst it is not possible to give a precise timescales for the resolution of such concerns, it is expected that these would take no longer than 2 weeks to discuss and resolve – unless a further timescales is agreed between the parties. Where the individual believes that their concerns have not been discussed and resolved within the agreed timeframe the individual may wish to consider progressing their concerns via the schools Grievance Policy & Procedure. Defining Bullying

There are many definitions of bullying and/or 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. 3.1

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Principles

All organisations should be free of any bullying and/or harassment, and this should not be tolerated in any form. Both Employees and the Governing Body should treat each other with dignity and respect. There should be an aim to work with colleagues to achieve goals, to maintain high standards of work and behaviour, and to promote the values and objectives of the School.

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Introduction

Examples of Bullying

Although there is no exhaustive list of behaviour that may constitute bullying, the list below gives some examples of what could be deemed as such:

Bullying and Harassment Guidance Note for Employees – January 2009

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HR Advisory Unit, CYPL Directorate, 2nd Floor, Silverlink North, Cobalt business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY 

Constantly criticising people without reason, people having responsibilities removed and being given trivial tasks to do,

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Shouting at people,

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Picking on people, either in front of others or in private,

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Preventing career progression or training opportunities,

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Regularly and deliberately ignoring or excluding individuals from work activities,

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Behaving in a manner which ostracises individuals within work groups or teams,

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Setting a person up to fail by overloading them with work or setting impossible deadlines,

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Attacking a member of staff in terms of their professional or personal standing,

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Regularly making the same person the butt of jokes.

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Defining Harassment

Individuals or groups can be harassed on grounds of their race, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion. Harassment on any of these grounds is unlawful. One definition of harassment is: “unwanted conduct that violates people‟s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. 4.1 Examples of Harassment

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Although there is no exhaustive list of behaviour that may constitute harassment, the list below gives some examples of what could be deemed as harassment in line with the definition given above: 

Threatening behaviour,

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Comments that are demeaning, derogatory or offensive,

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Physical contact,

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Making offensive jokes,

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Display of inappropriate publications or materials,

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Staring,

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Behaviour that excludes,

Using unacceptable language, Damage to personal items. 5

Employees who feel they are being Bullied and/or Harassed

Bullying and Harassment Guidance Note for Employees – January 2009

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HR Advisory Unit, CYPL Directorate, 2nd Floor, Silverlink North, Cobalt business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY

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Employees may wish to discuss the situation with the person involved in at attempt to resolve the matter. If this is not possible, employees may contact their Line Manager/Headteacher or where the concerns relate to the Headteacher or a member of the Governing Body the individual should contact the Chair of Governors in the first instance. Employees may also wish to seek support from a Work Colleague or Trade Union/Professional Association representative. It is always advisable to achieve resolution of any issues at an early stage and at an informal level. This can enable concerns to be resolved effectively as soon as possible and prior to them escalating further. This is likely to include working through any issues by discussing the situation with parties involved and agreeing a positive way forward. If this is not successful, employees may refer to the school Grievance Policy & Procedure to enable any concerns to be looked into at a formal level. 5.1 Employees who Witness Bullying and/or Harassment

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A culture where bullying and/or harassment are acceptable should not be tolerated. All individuals have a responsibility to ensure bullying and/or harassment does not take place, and therefore it is important that employees inform an appropriate person of any concerns if they suspect bullying and/or harassment is occurring. This, however, should not mean that employees are asked to raise concerns on behalf of their colleagues. Where individuals feel they are being bullied and/or harassed, they should look to address this as per section 5 of this document. 5.2 Line Managers‟ Responsibilities

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Line Managers have a responsibility to ensure that bullying and/or harassment does not take place and is dealt with appropriately where such issues arise, in a sensitive and timely manner. 5.3 Employees who have been Accused of Bullying and/or Harassment

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There should always be a „no blame‟ approach in the first instance. In doing so every effort will be made resolve any issues informally. Employees who are accused of bullying and/or harassment may also wish to discuss the matter with an appropriate person in School or contact their Trade Union/Professional Association representative. 6

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Where Informal Resolution has failed or is Not Appropriate

In instances where it has not been possible to deal with a matter informally, employees should progress the issue using the School‟s Grievance Policy & Procedure. In accordance with the Section Two of the schools Grievance Policy & Procedure individuals who feel that their concerns relating to bullying and/or harassment have not been resolved at the informal level should submit a Grievance in accordance with the Grievance Policy & Procedure. The Grievance relating to bullying and/or harassment will then move out of the Bullying and/or Harassment

Bullying and Harassment Guidance Note for Employees – January 2009

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HR Advisory Unit, CYPL Directorate, 2nd Floor, Silverlink North, Cobalt business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY

Guidance and move into the Grievance Procedure at Section Two. 603

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The individual will have a personal choice to make regarding whether they wish their Grievance to enter into the Grievance Policy & Procedure at either a further informal level (Section Two - 8) or to go directly to a formal level (Section Two 9). The Grievance will thereafter be managed via the appropriate Stage of the Grievance Policy & Procedure. Where it is established that bullying and/or harassment has taken place, Managers/the Governing Body will treat this as a serious matter and it may be necessary to invoke the schools Disciplinary Policy & Procedure. In such cases, bullying and/or harassment could be deemed as gross misconduct and may result in dismissal. 7

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Malicious Accusations of Bullying and/or Harassment

Any malicious accusations of bullying and/or harassment should be treated as serious breaches of discipline, and dealt with via the School‟s Disciplinary Policy & Procedure. In such cases, this could be deemed as gross misconduct and may result in dismissal. 8

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Other Support

In addition to making contact with their Manager/Headteacher or their Trade Union/Professional Association representative, it may also be beneficial for employees to access support from the Council‟s Occupational Health Unit, which can be arranged by talking with the Headteacher or an appropriate member of the Senior Leadership Team in School who will seek advice from the school‟s Link HR Advisor. Individuals are also able to self refer into Occupational Health, but need to be aware that Occupational Health to understand the concerns raised and to support the individual appropriately will need to make contact with the school for further information to ensure the provision of appropriate support. 9

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Contacts

The following information can be obtained from the school Link HR Advisor. 

A current list of trade union/professional association representatives.

Alternatively, information relating to contact details can also be obtained by accessing the Intranet or the Learning Portal or via the Staff Notice Board.

Bullying and Harassment Guidance Note for Employees – January 2009

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