Preventing harassment and sexual misconduct for staff

Birkbeck is committed to providing a safe and inclusive working and learning environment, where all staff, students, visitors, and contractors are welcomed and treated with respect and dignity. As individuals and members of the College community, we all have a responsibility to demonstrate respect and integrity in our interactions with others. Everyone has a right to feel safe and supported at work.

Bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct, discrimination or victimisation, will not be tolerated at Birkbeck and all reports of such inappropriate behaviour are taken very seriously.

This web page sets out Birkbeck’s approach to its duty in preventing harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace and ensuring individuals who experience inappropriate behaviour can report this and be supported.

1. What is harassment and sexual misconduct?

Harassment

Harassment is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. This means that people are legally protected from harassment in certain places, including at work.

Harassment related to a protected characteristic is defined as unwanted behaviour or conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment because of, or connected to, one or more of the following protected characteristics: age; disability; gender reassignment; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation. References to harassing a person include alarming the person or causing the person distress.

Employees need not possess the protected characteristic themselves but may be subjected to unacceptable behaviour because they are wrongly perceived to have a protected characteristic, or because of their association with an individual who has a protected characteristic. In addition, employees have the right to complain of behaviour that they find offensive even if it is not directed at them.

Sexual misconduct

Sexual misconduct is unwanted or attempted unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. This includes but is not limited to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. Sexual harassment does not need to be related to a protected characteristic.

Further information and examples of harassment and sexual misconduct can be found in the Dignity at Work policy.

2. What policy addresses harassment and sexual misconduct for staff?

The College’s Dignity at Work policy aims to prevent inappropriate behaviour, including harassment and sexual misconduct, in the workplace and sets out how to address incidents of such behaviour should they occur.

In support of this aim, the Policy:

sets out the standards of behaviour expected from staff
encourages staff to feel able to disclose inappropriate behaviour and feel supported in the process of resolving it
sets out the procedures for staff and managers to follow in relation to instances of bullying and harassment, sexual misconduct, discrimination and victimisation, promoting the early resolution of inappropriate behaviour where possible.
sets out action to take in relation to instances of bullying and harassment, sexual misconduct, discrimination and victimisation, where the complaint involves a student or other third parties such as external contractors and agency workers.

3. Disclosing, reporting and investigating harassment and sexual misconduct

The College takes all reports of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously and will manage them with appropriate confidentiality and sensitivity. If you feel like you have been or are being harassed or bullied, or if you witness others being subjected to behaviour of this type, and are unsure how to proceed, you can seek advice in the first instance, from one of the College’s network of Dignity at Work (D@W) Contacts who are trained to listen and are impartial. You may also speak to your line manager or your line manager’s manager.

3.1 Risks to personal safety

Where a member of staff believes their personal safety is at risk, they should seek help immediately from their line manager, or in an emergency the member of staff should telephone the main College reception on 555 from an internal Birkbeck telephone or call 999 if necessary.

3.2 Procedures for addressing incidents of inappropriate behaviour

Procedures for reporting/addressing inappropriate behaviour are set out in the Dignity at Work Policy. This includes raising complaints against another staff member or a third party, including a student, or a third party making a complaint against a member of staff.

Student complaints are dealt with under the Dignity at Study Principles.

There are a range of options which staff have for reporting/addressing inappropriate behaviour:

Informal resolution

An individual affected by alleged bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct may wish to explore informal resolution in the first instance. This could include speaking directly to the person responsible for the unwanted behaviour, if the person affected prefers this approach and feels it is safe to do so.

Formal Resolution

Where informal action is not appropriate due to the nature/seriousness of the incident, or has been attempted but has not been effective, individual complaints or concerns may be addressed through the Staff Grievance procedure.

Once a formal complaint has been received, the steps outlined in the relevant grievance procedure will usually be followed to deal with the complaint.

If the outcome of any investigation were to find that there is a disciplinary case to answer, this would be treated in accordance with the College Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedure, and the Statutes for academic staff.

3.3 Anonymous reporting

Anonymous reporting allows staff and other third parties (for example, contractors and visitors) to report inappropriate behaviour, including harassment, bullying, discrimination and sexual misconduct, without disclosing their identity. We will not ask for any personal identifiable details. You can disclose something that you experienced, something that you witnessed, or you can disclose on behalf of someone else (with their consent).

Anonymous reports received by the College are likely to be insufficient to advance a fair and thorough investigation. Therefore, we would encourage individuals to make a full disclosure where they feel able.

Anonymised data will be kept for reporting purposes and used to identify trends to see if there are similar reports and patterns of behaviour that should be addressed and to improve support services.

Complete the online form to submit an anonymous report.

4. Support for staff

The College recognises that matters relating to inappropriate behaviour will be difficult for all parties concerned and is committed to providing support and assistance for staff in these circumstances.

4.1 Internal sources of support

Dignity at Work Contacts are staff volunteers, trained to provide guidance and support to staff who contact them with a concern about bullying, harassment, sexual misconduct, discrimination or victimisation.

Their role is to:

listen and attempt to understand the issues being discussed
provide impartial support and information, in the first instance, to either the complainant or the respondent
raise questions to help identify the key points and explore what action, if any, the staff member wishes to take
give guidance on a range of support the College offers
explore options to identify next steps, including encouraging the staff member to talk with their line manager or their manager’s manager and/or the College’s Employee Assistance Programme
maintain up to date knowledge of College policies and procedures related to Dignity at Work, and undertake training as required.

The current Dignity at Work Contacts are Kevin Smith and Adam Towner.

Employee Assistance Programme - a confidential employee service including access to staff counselling, designed to help deal with personal and professional problems that could be affecting your home life or work life, health and general wellbeing. The helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year – Tel: 0800 028 0199

Health, safety and wellbeing Connect site - provides a range of online resources that staff may access at any time to support general mental and physical wellbeing.

4.2 External sources of support

5. Training

5.1 Mandatory training for staff

All staff are required to complete mandatory online training focused on tackling harassment and sexual misconduct. This helps to ensure staff understand how their behaviour may affect others, are able identify inappropriate behaviours amongst staff and students, understand how to safely challenge harassment and sexual misconduct and their responsibilities as staff members, and how to disclose or report incidents, and access support. The training must be completed and passed within the first four weeks of probation or prior to the start of the new academic year. The online tackling harassment and sexual misconduct training developed by Epigeum covers four modules:

Understanding harassment, hate and sexual misconduct
Responding to disclosures effectively
Next steps
Building a safe and inclusive community

5.2 Dignity at Work briefing

Further, to support specific understanding and implementation of the new Dignity at Work Policy, staff responsibilities, procedures and support available there is also an online briefing for all staff. This online briefing and quiz are mandatory for all staff.

6. Relationships at work

Birkbeck recognises that personal relationships may exist or develop between members of the College community. The College Relationships at Work Policy sets out how the College will manage the issues that may arise from any such relationship. The aim is to protect the integrity of employees and to recognise any power imbalance that may affect welfare and inclusion. The Policy provides guidance to manage actual or potential conflicts of interest, to establish appropriate standards, and to promote a safe and positive environment for students and staff.