This document presents the anti-harassment and bullying policy of a company, highlighting its commitment to providing a safe and respectful working environment for all employees. The policy applies to permanent and part-time employees, interns, volunteers, consultants, and casual workers.

The policy aims to create a positive and inclusive workplace culture, free of harassment, bullying, victimisation, and discrimination, and ensure that employees are aware of their conduct and behaviour at the workplace. The company has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and bullying against employees based on age, disability, gender, transsexuality, and transgender, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS vilification, and medical record. The policy provides examples of workplace harassment and bullying, which are not exhaustive, and encourages employees who are not sure whether an incident or series of incidents amounts to bullying or harassment to contact their immediate supervisor or the HR department for advice. The company takes all breaches of the policy seriously, and all allegations of breach will be thoroughly investigated by the HR department confidentially and fairly. The company promises to keep all matters relating to the complaint confidential and not to divulge them to any parties not involved in the proceedings.

The policy provides examples of workplace harassment and bullying and outlines the responsibilities and measures that senior management and the HR department are responsible for implementing. The policy provides a definition of harassment, sexual harassment, and bullying and examples of these behaviours that are unacceptable in the workplace. The policy concludes by stating that reasonable and legitimate action such as performance review, disciplinary action, not promoting an employee, workplace restructuring, giving reasonable instructions during the course of employment, and conducting other reasonable management actions that are part of the company's usual business practices, are not harassment or bullying.

How to Use the Document? 

This document outlines ACCOUNT_JOB_COMPANY's anti-harassment and bullying policy. It aims to provide employees with a safe working environment free from harassment, bullying, and discrimination. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to use the document effectively.

1. Familiarise yourself with the policy: Start by reading and understanding the policy. As an employee of ACCOUNT_JOB_COMPANY, it is essential to familiarise yourself with the company's stance on harassment and bullying.

2. Know your responsibilities and measures: The senior management of ACCOUNT_JOB_COMPANY is responsible for disseminating and implementing the policy throughout the company. The HR department is responsible for overall compliance and handling breach allegations. All employees must undergo regular training on harassment and bullying issues to ensure they are aware of the provisions of the policy.

3. Understand the general principles: The policy outlines the protected characteristics under which harassment and bullying will not be tolerated. The list of protected characteristics may be updated from time to time. Additionally, the examples of harassment and bullying listed in the policy are not exhaustive.

4. Recognise harassment: Harassment occurs when an employee receives hostile, humiliating, intimidating, or offensive treatment based on their protected characteristic. Conduct deemed unwelcomed by the employee will not be tolerated, even if the offender commits it unintentionally. Examples of workplace harassment may include insulting or threatening gestures, language, or making abusive, derogatory, unkind, hostile or otherwise unwelcoming statements regarding an employee.

5. Identify sexual harassment: Sexual harassment means performing any forms of sexual harassment, including making sexually offensive statements verbally, performing physical conducts bringing similar unwelcoming effects, displaying sexually explicit materials, sexual assault, and indecent exposure. Examples of workplace sexual harassment may include offensive comments on physical appearance, dress or private life, sending sexually explicit emails or messages, hugging, cornering, kissing, fondling, and forced sexual intercourse or assault.

6. Recognise bullying: Bullying is defined as a deliberate, intentional, and repeated aggressive, intimidating or insulting behaviour involving abuse of power directed towards another person or group of persons with the intention to cause physical or mental harm. Some examples of bullying include physical or psychological threats, personal attacks or hostile interactions, and abuse of power to make the other person feel intimidated.

This document is a critical resource for all employees at ACCOUNT_JOB_COMPANY and should be referenced frequently. By following these steps, employees can ensure a safe and inclusive workplace that maximises business performance.