Human Resources Division

Procedure

Dealing with bullying and harassment
Personal action by the complainant
Formal complaint procedure and investigation
Principles
Procedure summary

1. Dealing with bullying and harassment

The Head of Institution is accountable for the management of the institution and references will be made to this role throughout the procedure. In the event of any complaint, allegation or suspicion of behaviour which could constitute bullying or harassment, the appropriate actions may be delegated to identified and trained members of staff who may or may not be members of the institution concerned. Where, because of particular circumstances, it would be inappropriate for the Head of Institution to take part in the process, the matter should be referred to the Director of Human Resources who will ask the Chairman of the Council of the School, or in Council institutions the Registrary, to initiate action.

The HR Consultant/HR Officer assigned to the institution should be consulted at all stages of the procedure. His/her role is to offer objective support and procedural guidance both to departments and to individuals.

Members of staff and students who feel that they are being bullied or harassed may seek support from a number of sources (see sources of advice). The HR Consultant/HR Officer will be able to advise on procedure, how to seek support and will establish whether or not the complainant wishes to take further action.

2. Personal action by the complainant

A member of staff or a student who feels that s/he is being bullied or harassed may feel able to approach the person whom s/he perceives as the harasser.

The complainant may seek support on a confidential basis in formulating what s/he wants to say, and in speaking or writing to the other person. The complainant may be accompanied by a colleague, a fellow-student, or an adviser (see sources of advice) (preferably from within the University) if s/he chooses to speak to the person complained against. Advice in these circumstances is given below.

If a successful resolution is achieved, the adviser or HR Consultant/HR Officer assigned to the institution may keep a confidential record and in some cases to inform a party's immediate supervisor or the Head of Institution in general terms, if s/he considers this appropriate.

In some situations this course of action may not be possible. However if the complainant is confident enough and/or the person complained against had no intention of giving offence, a resolution of this kind should make it possible to restore good working relationships.

Informal resolution with the support of the Head of Institution, departmental administrator, Tutor or supervisor or conciliator nominated by the Human Resources Division

The complainant may be unable or reluctant to approach the person complained against. If so, the complainant may approach his or her Head of Institution or immediate supervisor or manager, departmental administrator or, if this is not possible or appropriate in the circumstances, the Director of Human Resources to ask for help in achieving an informal resolution of the problem. The HR Consultant/HR Officer assigned to the institution will be available to advise.

If it is not possible to resolve the difficulty informally to the satisfaction of the complainant, the parties will be asked to consider entering a mediation process. A conciliator acceptable to both parties will normally be nominated by the Human Resources Division within five working days of receiving the approach. The conciliator should meet the complainant to start the process (see further below) and begin to seek a resolution as quickly as possible, normally within five working days; the normal expectation would be that the resolution would be achieved within a further fifteen working days. Should it be impossible to reach agreement on an acceptable conciliator within five working days, this stage of the process may be abandoned.

By agreement these time limits may be extended to meet particular circumstances.

For further information on the mediator's role, please see:

Internal Mediation Service

Both parties are entitled to be supported by a colleague, a fellow-student or an adviser in working towards a resolution, although should mediation be agreed as the way forward the presence of supporters may not be appropriate; however this should be decided by agreement between the parties.

Everyone involved in the process must maintain appropriate confidentiality. If for any reason the process does not seem to be working, or is taking an unacceptably long time to achieve a resolution, either party may withdraw from the process. In this case it is likely that a formal complaint and investigation would follow.

There are other possible routes to a resolution, such as the intervention of mediators external to the University, and the conciliator may recommend this where appropriate. The HR Consultant/HR Officer assigned to the complainant's institution can initiate the mediation process. To enter into mediation requires the agreement of both parties and either party may withdraw at any stage in the mediation process.

3. Formal complaint procedure and investigation

If either of the above processes does not succeed in resolving the situation or if, for whatever reason, the complainant chooses not to use one or other of them, s/he may decide to make a formal complaint to his/her Head of Institution or if this is not possible in the circumstances, to the Director of Human Resources. If the Head of Institution or the Director of Human Resources considers at this stage that an informal resolution may be feasible and appropriate, s/he may discuss this option with the complainant. If, following this discussion, the complainant continues to request a formal investigation this must be initiated (by appointing an investigator) without further delay.

There may be circumstances in which an aggrieved party is not willing, or able, to make a formal complaint but where the Head of Institution considers that the implications for the aggrieved person or others actually or potentially affected are serious. In this case the Head of Institution, having taken advice from the Director of Human Resources, may initiate an investigation and make a decision on further action on the basis of such evidence as is available. It is important in these circumstances that the right of the alleged perpetrator to natural justice is respected.

A formal complaint should be in writing, should contain enough detail to allow an investigation to be initiated by the officer to whom the complaint has been made, and should append any relevant evidence. The complainant may seek the support of his/her trades union representative, a Dignity@Work contact, a College Tutor or a friend in preparing the complaint. The person complained against may also seek the support of any relevant person listed above in responding to the complaint. These people must maintain appropriate confidentiality.

Both the complainant and the person complained against may be accompanied at any meeting by their trades union representative, student union officer or a colleague or fellow-student, who should maintain appropriate confidentiality.

The investigative process should not be carried out by the person who will assess the outcome and make any necessary decisions. Normally the investigator will be drawn from a panel of senior members of staff with appropriate training and will not be a member of any institution in which either party is concerned.

Guidance on investigations has been published on the Web. The guidance document is also available from the Human Resources Division in booklet form.

The investigator should normally be appointed within five working days of receipt of the complaint, and the investigation should normally commence within five working days of the appointment of the investigator and should be concluded as soon as is reasonably practicable.

The procedure is complex and incorporates a number of possible routes and outcomes. This is necessary in order to balance the rights and needs of both parties. The intention is to facilitate a non-confrontational approach to resolution, while ensuring that there is a clear formal route should it be necessary. The procedure is set out below, and summarised in the flow-chart appended.

Investigation

The written complaint will be forwarded to the person complained against.
The investigator will meet the complainant in order to confirm the details of the complaint.
The investigator will also, where reasonably practicable, interview any witnesses nominated by the complainant.
The investigator will meet the person complained against to hear his/her response to the complaint
The investigator will also interview any witnesses nominated by the person complained against.
Having considered all the evidence, the investigator will decide whether s/he considers that there is a prima facie case of bullying or harassment, and will prepare a written report on his/her findings. The draft report will be made available to the parties for comments on matters of fact, which will normally be given within five working days, before it is finalised.
The investigator will report in writing on his/her findings to the complainant's Head of Institution, copying the report to the parties concerned and the Director of Human Resources.

In carrying out the investigation, the investigator will need to ensure that the rights of both parties to fair treatment are observed. The principles of natural justice require that any person complained against has the right to know the nature and details of the complaint, and to respond to the complaint. In some exceptional circumstances, however, names/identities may be kept confidential and not disclosed to a party. If any party or a witness has any concerns about details or identity being disclosed, s/he should notify the investigator (giving full reasons — and evidence where possible — for his/her concerns) and the investigator will discuss the matter with the Human Resources Division.

Action by the Head of Institution

In the light of the findings of the investigation the complainant's Head of Institution will decide what action is appropriate.

If the investigator's report concludes that there is no case to answer, provided this conclusion is acceptable to all parties, and has been so confirmed in writing to the Head of Institution, the case will be closed, although steps may need to be taken to restore reasonable working relationships between the parties. If either party does not accept the findings, they may invoke the relevant grievance procedure.

If the Head of Institution on considering the investigator's report believes that the complaint was malicious or vexatious, s/he may take disciplinary action against the complainant, in consultation with the Human Resources Division or, if the complainant is a student, his or her College. No disciplinary action will be taken against a complainant where a complaint is mistaken or ill-founded but not malicious or vexatious.

If the investigator's report concludes that there is a case to answer, the Head of Institution may:

Institute disciplinary action under the relevant procedure against the person complained against (or request that that person's Head of Institution do so) , in consultation with the Human Resources Division.
Initiate steps to attempt a resolution of the issues. If a successful resolution is achieved the case will be closed, but the situation will be monitored for an appropriate period. If either party does not accept this solution, they may resort to the relevant grievance procedure.

Should action be taken against a party as a result of an investigation, the Head of Institution, while respecting confidentiality, will inform the other party of the fact that appropriate action has been taken.

4. Principles

At any stage of the procedure, those involved in attempting a resolution or in investigating a complaint must act in accordance with good practice and certain principles:

Natural justice: Any person complained against has the right to know the nature and sufficient details of the complaint, and to respond to the complaint
Representation: Both complainant and person complained against have the right to be accompanied and supported by a trades union representative or a colleague
Confidentiality: In order to safeguard individuals confidentiality must be very strictly respected and information limited to those who have a need to know (and limited to no more than they need to know) for the purposes of the operation of these procedures and for maintenance of good order in the University. The University reserves rights to seek advice from or involve an appropriate authority outside the University if it believes that it is under an obligation to do so.
Records: Notes taken at meetings should ideally be agreed by all present. The University and all those involved in this process must observe the principles of data protection. The Human Resources Division (and the College, if the complainant is a student) should be consulted about filing and retention of all notes and documents.
Timescales: A complainant should make a complaint in a timely fashion, and once a complaint is made it must be investigated promptly. While it is important that an investigation is thorough, a long-drawn out investigation can be stressful for both parties. Normally a complaint should be made at the very earliest opportunity after the incident or the most recent occurrence of ongoing behaviour complained against. There may be cases in which a complaint is unavoidably delayed. Bullying or harassment can have a serious effect on people and a complainant may not feel able to make a complaint without initial support or counselling. It is recognised nevertheless that a complaint made after a significant time lapse may put a strain on the person complained against and it may make an informal resolution impossible. A delay is therefore not to be recommended and any delay that has to occur should be kept as short as possible.