Roys (Wroxham) Ltd Sexual Harassment Policy

Introduction

All staff are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect in their place of work. This means freedom from sexual harassment, feeling safe and supported and having access to redress if such behaviour does arise.

Sexual harassment takes many forms, but whatever form it takes, it is unlawful under the Workers Protection (Equality Act 2010 Amended) and will not be tolerated.

The law requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers. We take action to prevent sexual harassment from occurring and have clear reporting procedures for our staff to make a complaint about sexual harassment. If you have been sexually harassed, or you have witnessed sexual harassment, we encourage you to tell us so that we can deal with the matter swiftly.

The Head of HR has overall responsibility for the operation of this policy but may delegate elements of implementation or decision-making to other members of the Senior Management Team or the HR Advisor. The majority of our Leaders are Mental Health First Aid Support trained and maintain an open-door policy. We encourage all staff to come forward with any concerns they have including sexual harassment. All our staff have a responsibility to behave in line with the requirements of this policy.

Allegations of sexual harassment or victimisation may lead to disciplinary action up to, and including, termination of employment.

This policy is reviewed regularly to ensure it remains up to date and to monitor its effectiveness. Any changes required will be implemented and communicated to our workforce.

Scope

As a business, we deplore all forms of sexual harassment and seek to ensure that the working environment is safe and supportive to all those who work for us. This includes employees, workers, agency workers, volunteers and contractors, in all areas of our Organisation.

Definitions

Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person. It also covers treating someone less favourably because they have submitted to, or refused to submit to, unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or in relation to gender reassignment or sex.

Sexual harassment may be committed by a fellow worker, an agent of an organisation, or a third party. It does not need to occur in person. It can occur via digital means, including social media sites or channels (e.g. WhatsApp). Someone may be sexually harassed even if they were not the target of the behaviour. Examples of sexual harassment include, but are not limited to:

• Sexual comments or jokes, which may be referred to as "banter"
• Sexual noises - i.e. wolf whistling or cat calling
• Sexual gestures
• Leering, staring or suggestive looks
• Sharing sexual images, memes etc
• Sexual innuendos or suggestive comments
• Unwanted sexual advances or flirting
• Sexual requests or asking for sexual favours
• Sending emails, texts or social media posts with sexual comments/and or attachments - for example unwanted pictures of the naked body
• Asking intrusive questions about a person’s sex life
• Discussing your own sex life regardless of your orientation
• Commenting on someone's body, appearance or what they are wearing in a sexual way
• Spreading sexual rumours
• Unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature - including brushing up against someone, touching their hair, hugging, kissing, massaging them etc
• Displaying sexually graphic pictures, posters or photos
• Indecent exposure
• Making promises in return for sexual favours

Victimisation is subjecting someone to detriment because they have done, are suspected of doing, or intend to do, an act which is protected under discrimination and harassment laws. These are outlined below. It is not necessary for the person to have done the protected act for detrimental treatment to be considered as victimisation.

The protected acts are:

• Making a claim or complaint under the Equality Act 2010 Amended (e.g. for discrimination or harassment)
• Helping someone else to make a claim by giving evidence or information in connection with proceedings under the Equality Act 2010 Amended
• Making an allegation that someone has breached the Equality Act 2010 Amended
• Doing anything else in connection with the Equality Act 2010 Amended

Examples of victimisation may include:

• Failing to consider someone for promotion because they have previously made a sexual harassment complaint
• Dismissing someone because they accompanied a colleague to a meeting about a sexual harassment complaint
• Excluding someone from work meetings because they gave evidence as a witness for another employee as part of an employment tribunal claim about harassment

Circumstances which are covered by this policy (but not limited to):

• A work situation where a work colleague or third party (i.e. customer, supplier, delivery driver etc), sexually harasses an employee on work premises
• A social gathering where work is a common factor (i.e. the individuals know each other due to their employment with Roys), where a work colleague or third party, sexually harasses an employee outside of the workplace

What to do if you are subject to sexual harassment or victimisation

We are committed to ensuring that there is no sexual harassment or victimisation in our workplace. Allegations of sexual harassment and victimisation will be treated as a potential disciplinary matter, although every situation will be considered on an individual basis and in accordance with the principles of our disciplinary procedures (a copy of which is available on 365, from a member of your leadership team or by contacting HR).

Informal Complaint

We recognise that complaints of sexual harassment or victimisation can be of a sensitive or intimate nature and that it may not be appropriate initially, for you to raise the issue through our normal grievance procedure with your line manager. Instead, you may wish to speak informally with your line manager or if you would prefer, you could raise such issues with an alternative senior colleague of your choice who is at leadership level, (whether or not that person has a direct supervisory responsibility for you) as a “Trusted Person”. This person cannot be the same person who will be responsible for investigating the matter if it becomes a formal grievance issue. Alternatively you could contact a member of the H.R. team.

If you experience sexual harassment and you feel comfortable to do so, you should make it clear to the harasser on an informal basis that their behaviour is unwelcome and ask the harasser to stop. If you feel unable to do this verbally then you should hand a written request to the harasser, and your trusted person can assist you in this.

In addition, you may also choose to raise concerns during your regular communication with your manager, e.g. in a one-to-one meeting. Your manager will listen to you and take your concerns seriously if you do this but may encourage you to follow the reporting procedures set out below. If you don’t have a one-to-one meeting scheduled with your manager, you can ask to meet with them to discuss any concerns that you may have.

Formal Complaint

Where the informal approach fails or if you feel an informal approach is not appropriate, you should bring the matter to the attention of your Line Manager as a formal grievance. Alternatively, you can report instances to your Store/Department Manager or by contacting HR.

If possible, you should keep notes of what happened so that the grievance can include:

• The name of the alleged harasser
• The nature of the alleged harassment
• The dates and times when the alleged harassment occurred
• The names of any witnesses
• Any action already taken by you to stop the alleged harassment.

On receipt of a grievance, we will take action to separate you from the alleged harasser to enable an uninterrupted investigation to take place. This may involve a temporary transfer of the alleged harasser to another work area or suspension until the matter has been resolved.

We will then follow the grievance process as set out in Roys Grievance Policy.

Regardless of the outcome of the procedure, we are committed to providing the support you may need. This may involve mediation between you and the other party or some other measure to manage the ongoing working relationship.

You will not be victimised for having brought a complaint, however if employees raise a grievance maliciously or vexatiously, they may be subject to disciplinary action if after investigation the grievance proves to be dishonest.

What to do if you witness sexual harassment or victimisation

If you witness sexual harassment or victimisation, you are encouraged to take action appropriate action to address it. You should not take any action that may put you at risk of sexual harassment or other harm. If you feel able, you should intervene to prevent the matter continuing. If you are not able to do this, your action may include offering support to the person who has been sexually harassed and encouraging them to report the incident or reporting the incident yourself.

If reporting the incident, you should bring the matter to the attention your line manager in writing. Alternatively, you can report instances of sexual harassment by contacting HR.

Your concerns will be handled by a member of your Leadership Team or HR, who will sensitively talk to the person subject to sexual harassment to determine how they want the matter to be handled.

Third-party sexual harassment

Third-party sexual harassment occurs when a member of our workforce is subjected to sexual harassment by someone who is not part of our workforce but who is encountered in connection with work. This includes, but is not restricted to, our customers, suppliers, members of the public, delivery drivers etc.

Third-party sexual harassment of our workforce is unlawful and will not be tolerated. The law requires employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment by third parties and we are committed to doing so.

To prevent third-party sexual harassment from occurring, we:

• Have customer notice boards under the section Staff Harassment which states that any threatening behaviour, either verbal or physical will not be tolerated and anyone displaying such behaviour will be asked to leave the store and may face prosecution.
• Set out our zero-tolerance policy to sexual harassment on our website.

If you have been subjected to third-party sexual harassment, you are encouraged to report this as soon as possible to your Line Manager, a member of your Leadership Team or HR.

Should a customer sexually harass a member of our workforce, we will speak with the third party about their behaviour and where appropriate ask them to leave the store. They may also be banned from entering the store in future and or face prosecution if their behaviour is a criminal act i.e. stalking, indecent exposure, any physical sexual offence.

Should a visitor (Driver, Supplier Representative etc) sexually harass a member of our workforce, we will speak with them about their behaviour, were appropriate ask them to leave the premises and raise the issue with their employer. We may advise the employer that their employee is not welcome on our premises going forward and ask that they make alternative arrangements. If appropriate, we may also ban the third party from entering the store as a customer. Any criminal acts i.e. stalking, indecent exposure or any sexual offence etc will be reported to the police.

We will not tolerate sexual harassment by any member of our workforce against a third party. Instances of sexual harassment of this kind may lead to disciplinary action, including termination of employment.

Disciplinary action

If the decision is that the allegation of sexual harassment or victimisation is well founded, the harasser/victimiser will be liable to disciplinary action in accordance with our disciplinary procedure up to, and including, summary dismissal. An employee who receives a formal warning or who is dismissed for sexual harassment/victimisation may appeal by using our disciplinary appeal procedure.

When deciding on the level of disciplinary sanction to be applied, we will take into consideration any aggravating factors affecting the case.

Training

We provide training to all our staff on sexual harassment to ensure there is a clear understanding of:

• What sexual harassment is, how it may occur and that it will not be tolerated
• Expected levels of behaviour
• How they can report any incidents of having been sexually harassed or having witnessed it
• How acts of harassment will be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure, which can potentially result in dismissal

We ensure that all levels of management are trained on implementing this policy, including preventing and managing sexual harassment in the workplace and the procedure to follow if an allegation is reported.