Dignity at Work Policy
Statement of Context
Ardent Theatre Company (ATC) is strongly committed to creating a working environment in which all staff, volunteers and creative participants are treated with dignity and respect.
ATC stands firmly against bullying, harassment and discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
This policy applies to all staff (casual, temporary and permanent), volunteers and creative participants. All parties engaged in any work with ATC are expected to read and agree to the expectations of the Dignity at Work Policy.
Purpose of Ardent Theatre Company’s Dignity at Work Policy
This policy outlines what harassment, bullying and discrimination are and describes the type of action which will be taken if bullying, harassment and discrimination does occur. It is the responsibility of the founding Creative Director with the support of the Chair of Trustees to implement this policy and ensure it is understood as part of the induction of new staff, volunteers and trustees.
Questions about this policy and requests for training or information on dealing with bullying, harassment and discrimination should be directed to the founding Creative Director or the Chair of Trustees. Mediation process if appropriate will be overseen by the Chair of Trustees or a member of the board of trustees. If allegations of bullying, harassment and discrimination involve the Creative Director or Chair of Trustees then another member of the board of trustees should be approached.
Definitions
Bullying, harassment and discrimination may be intentional or unintentional, overt or covert, explicit or subtle. It may be by one individual against another or involve groups of people. It may cause the recipient to feel threatened, humiliated, patronised or embarrassed. A single incident can amount to harassment.
Bullying:
Bullying is characterised by ATC as:
offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour
an abuse or misuse of power through means which are intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient
Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. It may be by one individual against another or involve groups of people. It may be obvious or it may be insidious - whatever form it takes, it is unwarranted and unwelcome.
Legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of a worker's performance or behaviour, or reasonable instructions given to staff in the course of their voluntary activities or employment will not amount to bullying.
Persistent, unreasonable and negative criticism of a worker’s performance or behaviour will be considered as bullying.
Harassment:
Harassment is:
unwanted conduct that has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment
this conduct may be physical, verbal or non-verbal
this conduct may form part of a wider acceptance of discriminatory practice or attitudes
Harassment can also have a specific meaning under the UK’s anti-discrimination laws and may constitute unlawful action which ATC will report, as appropriate, to relevant statutory bodies.
Discrimination:
Discrimination is:
conduct of a sexual nature (including sexual harassment), including verbal, non-verbal and physical actions
conduct that is related to negative actions surrounding age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, refugee or asylum status, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation
Forms of bullying, harassment and discrimination
There is no definitive checklist of what constitutes bullying, harassment or discrimination as such behaviours are often specific to actions of the perpetrator, the individual concerned and their feelings of respect and dignity.
Such behaviour does not need to take place face to face in order for it to amount to bullying, harassment and/or discrimination. It may also occur in written communications, during telephone conversations and via social media.
Below are some of the more serious examples of bullying, harassment and discrimination, all of which would be likely to lead to further appropriate actions:
suggestive comments or body language
unwanted physical contact including coercive actions regarding sexual activity
speculation about a person’s private life and sexual activities
patronising or demeaning behaviour to individuals based on aspects of their identity and/or subjectivity including belittling aspects of this identity/subjectivity
display or circulation of offensive written or visual material including the display of pornographic or sexually suggestive pictures
exclusion or victimisation (such as from normal work place conversation or social events)
conduct that denigrates, ridicules or humiliates an individual, especially in front of their colleagues including setting them up to fail
overbearing supervision or other misuse of power or position
deliberately undermining a colleague by overloading them and/or constantly criticising them
inappropriate derogatory remarks about performance
insulting behaviour or gestures
open hostility including shouting at an individual or using silent treatment techniques
racist, sexist, lewd, homophobic or ageist jokes, or derogatory stereotypical remarks about a particular ethnic group or religious group or gender
Bullying, harassment and discrimination could involve repeated forms of unwanted behaviour but a single incident, if it is sufficiently serious, may constitute unlawful action and require further investigation by statutory authorities.
Procedures for dealing with bullying, harassment and discrimination
Informal procedure
Some cases of bullying and harassment can start off as fairly minor incidents. Often the person does not know that their behaviour is unwelcome until they are told that it is. ATC has, therefore, adopted an informal procedure for dealing with allegations of minor forms of bullying and harassment.
The informal procedure for dealing with minor forms of harassment or bullying includes the following:
If you feel able and want to, you can challenge the person independent of ATC support.
ATC supports you in challenging the person in a clear and constructive manner without leading any of the interventions.
Option 1 can take the form of the founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees exploring options and coaching you in dealing with the situation. It may be that the person does not know what effect they are having. Speaking to the individual and informing them that their behaviour is unwelcome can often stop the behaviour and allow for a meaningful apology to take place.
Option 2 can take the form of the founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees calling for a prompt intervention meeting so that swift resolution can take place.
In coaching or advising, the founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees is not judging the truth of what has happened (it is not an investigation) but rather advising you on a constructive way of handling the situation. This approach is often found to be very empowering but may not always be the most appropriate course of action.
The founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees chairs a meeting(s) between you and the person involved in the inappropriate conduct. In the meeting(s), you will be asked to say how you experience their behaviour and how it made you feel. The meeting will usually end with both people having a clearer idea of their behaviour and an agreed code of conduct moving forward.
You inform the founding Creative Director or the Chair of Trustees and ask them to deal with it. This is very difficult to deal with if you do so anonymously and natural justice dictates that the alleged perpetrator be informed of the allegations and be given the opportunity to respond.
ATC may arrange external mediation or seek the support of the Board of Trustees to support any of the options above.
Option 3 can take the form of the founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees exploring options and coaching you in dealing with the situation before the meeting takes place. The founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees will use the meeting time to identify which actions need to change and the process will be documented formally with a follow up meeting held within an agreed timeframe.
Option 4 can take the form of the founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees calling for a prompt intervention meeting so that swift intervention can take place. The founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees may seek additional information if possible, following this meeting so that both parties have a further opportunity to respond.
Option 5 is likely if the founding Creative Director or Chair of Trustees feel that further professional guidance is warranted.
Weighing up informal versus formal procedures
ATC is aware that volunteers, paid staff or creative participants might find it difficult to decide whether to raise an issue of bullying, harassment or discrimination fearing repercussions of their own career or the career of another. ATC recommends discussion, dialogue and disclosure as a staple tenet to approach dealing with bullying, harassment and discrimination.
ATC notes the following key points:
Discrimination is rarely minor (e.g., racial or disability-based discrimination) and will likely to be viewed as serious in content from the outset.
If you initially make an informal complaint to ATC regarding bullying or harassment but the behaviour complained of persists or is serious, then ATC will invoke its formal procedure (as set out below).
Formal procedure
ATC has a formal procedure for persistent or more serious cases of bullying, harassment or discrimination.
All formal complaints of bullying, harassment and discrimination will be dealt with seriously, confidentially and as soon as possible after they are raised.
Step 1:
To make a formal complaint, you must do so in writing in as much detail as possible.
The written complaint should set out the full details of the conduct in question including:
the named, the alleged harasser or bully
the nature of the harassment or bullying
the date(s) and time(s) at which it occurred
the names of any witnesses
any action that has been taken so far to stop it occurring
Step 2:
Once you have done this, you should send your complaint to the founding Creative Director. Alternatively, if your complaint is about the Creative Director, then you should send it to the Chair of Trustees. It will then be investigated as a formal complaint under this policy.
Step 3:
A staff member formally accused of harassment or bullying may be suspended from project work (typically for no more than 10 working days, although this period may be extended in exceptional circumstances) or temporarily relocated (is possible) during the course of an investigation. This is a neutral measure and is not indicative of any outcome of the investigation.
Step 4:
All formal complaints will be investigated using this Dignity at Work policy. The investigation will be conducted by the founding Creative Director or the Chair of Trustees. ATC will investigate complaints in a timely and confidential manner. The investigation will be conducted by someone with appropriate experience and may involve the support and expertise of a member of the board of trustees.
Step 5:
ATC will arrange a meeting with you, usually within one week of receiving your complaint, so that you can give your account of events. The investigator will also meet with the alleged harasser or bully to hear their account of events. They will be informed of the allegations against them so that they can respond.
Step 6:
If the complaint is deemed to be malicious, it may result in ATC reporting the matter to statutory authorities who will decide if further action is necessary.
Action and internal penalties do, however, need to be proportionate to the offence and take all circumstances into consideration. This may involve individuals being asked to leave a project and not being offered voluntary or paid work with ATC in the future.