Harassment and bullying at work continue to be an unpleasant fact of life for some employees. Employers can work to change this by putting in place policies and procedures to create and sustain inclusive workplaces.

What is harassment and bullying?

 
Harassment and bullying are commonly seen as being behaviours of an offensive, oppressive or intimidatory kind that, whether deliberately or not, cause their victims to feel physically and/or emotionally hurt or distressed.
 
In legal terms there are subtle differences between the terms harassment and bullying. In summary these are:
 

• Harassment refers to offensive, oppressive or intimidatory behaviour that is connected to a protected equality ground. It is a form of discrimination that is prohibited by the anti-discrimination laws. The protected equality grounds are: sex, pregnancy and maternity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, religious or similar philosophical belief, political opinion, race, colour, ethnic or national origins, nationality, sexual orientation, disability and age. Anti-discrimination laws prohibit two forms of harassment, one of which is sexual harassment.

 

• Bullying is similar in that it too is offensive, oppressive or intimidatory behaviour, but it is not connected to a protected equality ground. It is not deemed to be a form of unlawful discrimination under the anti-discrimination laws, although there may be legal remedies for it under other areas of employment law.

Download our guidance publication:
 

• Harassment and Bullying at Work - Promoting an inclusive workplace (pdf)

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended) states that people who are diagnosed with cancer are deemed to be disabled from the point of diagnosis rather than from the point when the condition has some adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Good practice stepsUnder the law, employees with cancer cannot be treated less favourably than other staff - this could be deemed discrimination. This includes during recruitment processes, employee terms and conditions, benefits, and opportunities for promotion and training.

We have produced a short guide in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to assist employers in supporting employees affected by cancer.
 

• Download our 10 Good Practice Steps (pdf)

Further information for employers:
 

• Managing absence
• Making reasonable adjustments in the workplace
• Flexible working

The Equality Commission conducted a investigation into the employment experiences of pregnant women and mothers, on maternity leave and on their return to work. Almost 1,000 women across Northern Ireland responded to our online survey sharing their experiences through focus group discussions and interviews.

Following the investigation the Commission produced new guidance for employers on pregnancy and maternity in the workplace. The guidance can also be downloaded as a pdf publication:
 

• Pregnancy and maternity at work – a guide for employers in Northern Ireland (pdf, 2016)
• Read more about the formal investigation

All businesses and public authorities have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people can access their services.

Signing up to the 'Every Customer Counts' initiative allows service providers to work through a 4 step process designed to help them meet this requirement:
 

Step 1 - Develop a Service Provision Policy
 

Step 2 - Conduct an Audit of Services
 

Step 3 - Agree an Accessible Business Action Plan

You can also sign up to the Every Customer Counts Commitment
 

Helpful resources are available in the form of a self audit tool, an action plan template, good practice guides, and template customer service statement and policy template.  Read more about Every Customer Counts>

The Equality Commission has launched a Mental Health Charter which provides a framework for working towards mentally healthy workplaces.

The Charter, jointly produced by the Equality Commission, Action Mental Health, Disability Action, MindWise, Mental Health Foundation and Niamh, provides a framework for working towards mentally healthy workplaces. Those who sign up to the Charter will undertake to promote good mental health which will be beneficial to their business, employees and the whole community in Northern Ireland.

The Equality Commission can provide those who sign up with free information and training resources to help them meet their Charter commitments.
 

• Read more and access the Mental Health Charter

The Equality Commission is working to address gender imbalance in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) businesses in Northern Ireland.

If you are a STEM business (employer or training provider) and would be interested in webinars and networking on this subject, read more about the STEM

The Equality Commission produced a joint newsletter with the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) to help keep businesses in Northern Ireland up-to-date with employment and equality law.

In this edition:

This edition covers:
 

• 12 steps to becoming an Equal Opportunities employer
• Recommended model policies and procedures
• The reasonable adjustment duty and the Disability Discrimination Act

It also includes 'employment law hot topics':
 

• The Employment Bill (NI) 2015
• National Living Wage
• Overtime and holiday pay
• Extension of the right to request flexible working
• Pre-claim conciliation service for employers and employee

The Equality Commission is now on the professional social networking site Linked in. The Commission's Advisory Services Team will be posting helpful tips and advice for employers and service providers along with information about upcoming events and training sessions.

Don't miss out, follow us now!