It’s Anti-Bullying Week in the UK, from 16 to 20 November, but bullying goes beyond school and can happen in the workplace. Bullying in the workplace is still a significant issue for many businesses and organisations, despite increasing awareness of its existence. There are various legal aspects to workplace bullying and harassment, which is why having the right HR advice and support can be critical in addressing and resolving these issues. What is Workplace Bullying? TUC research suggests that nearly a third of people are bullied at work. A UNISON survey has 60% of its respondents reporting that they had either experienced or witnessed bullying in the workplace. But what is workplace bullying? Under the Equality Act the definition of bullying and harassment is behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated or offended. Bullying, whilst highly questionable and immoral behaviour that any fair employer would not condone, is not illegal. Harassment, however, is against the law. Behaviour that amounts to bullying can include: Unfair treatment Picking on someone Denying them opportunities for training or promotion Spreading malicious rumours Bullying can become harassment if this behaviour relates to certain aspects of someone’s life, such as their age, race, sexuality, partnership status or […]
The Equality Act 2010 makes it against the law to discriminate against a person who has a protected characteristic. These characteristics include sex, religion, or age. Discrimination can occur anywhere but as HR consultants, we’re specifically talking about protected characteristics in the workplace. This blog explains the protected characteristics, how discrimination can occur, how employers can avoid discrimination, and how Metis HR can help you stay compliant. Protected Characteristics In The Workplace Formed to replace separate anti-discrimination laws with one easy to understand Act, The Equality Act 2010 provides people with legal protection against discrimination in the workplace and wider society. 9 protective characteristics are set out in the Equality Act 2010. These are: age disability gender reassignment marriage and civil partnership pregnancy and maternity race religion or belief sex sexual orientation Workplace Discrimination As mentioned, the Equality Act protects people at work as well as in society. Workplace discrimination disputes arise when an employer has acted unfairly towards an employee, or potential employee based on a protected characteristic. Discrimination isn’t always intentional, and employers can inadvertently discriminate against employees or potential employees. If this isn’t picked up until it is too late it can sever trust with employees, damage […]
If you have a dispute between a number of your team you might be considering whether you should use an external workplace mediator to settle it. Mediation is a great way to bring harmony back to a workplace if your staff or managers have a disagreement. You might bring in a workplace mediator if: Your employees cannot settle a disagreement themselves. It is affecting the productivity or culture of the workplace. The issue does not require a disciplinary or grievance procedure. On these occasions, mediation can work wonders by helping both parties reach mutual understanding and acceptance. Can you mediate a workplace disagreement yourself or should you use an external workplace mediator? Do You Have To Use A Professional Workplace Mediator? You don’t have to use a professional workplace mediator. You can carry out the mediation yourself or have a colleague do it. However, mediation is a skill in which a professional workplace mediator is trained and experienced. We have been to workplaces where well-meaning managers have had a go a mediating a disagreement and it has actually made things worse. Your staff may not want to share their personal thoughts and feelings with another work colleague. If their level […]
Does workplace mediation work is a question people ask themselves when they have a situation at work that would benefit from the services of a professional mediator. Usually, relationships and communications between two or more people have broken down and it is causing a problem in the workplace. It is at this point, a workplace mediator is brought in. But what exactly does a workplace mediator do? And does workplace mediation work in the long run? Let’s have a look at whether workplace mediation works using a case study from one of our many happy customers to demonstrate just how effective workplace mediation can be. What Was The Problem? Two employees had stopped speaking to each other due to a lot of gossip and rumours. The company had previously handled this by separating the two employees into different departments, so they didn’t need to see each other. At first, this was successful until the company needed to close one of the departments due to a restructure. The company did not want to make either of the employees redundant as they were both excellent employees and the best candidates for their roles. However, problems were brewing between the two. Unable to […]
Clients regularly ask us how can workplace mediation help? Conflict is almost inevitable in most work relationships. Some conflict arises over technical issues – such as what tasks to do and how to do them. This can be helpful at times as it drives a company forward to make improvements to processes and policies. However, interpersonal tension can easily damage relationships and lead to wider discord and malfunctioning teams. 3 in 4 UK workers report good relationships with their line managers. Almost 9 in 10 say they have good relationships with colleagues in their teams. By contrast, 1 in 10 reports a poor relationship with their line manager and 1 in 20 reports poor relationships with team colleagues. Despite this, a number of employees may experience flashpoints of conflict or unfair treatment at work. 3 in 10 workers report at least one form of bullying or harassment in the last year. 1 in 5 UK workers points to a blame culture among their managers and 1 in 5 also point to a lack of an inclusive culture in their teams. The organisational costs of conflict Costs can include management time being diverted to deal with the conflict instead of focusing […]
At Metis HR, we regularly receive enquiries about many HR issues and one question asked is ‘What is Workplace Mediation? Workplace Mediation is defined by ACAS as ‘a completely voluntary and confidential form of resolving workplace disputes between people’. It involves an independent third party considering an employment problem and working with those concerned to try and seek an amicable resolution for everyone. Both ACAS and tribunals actively encourage parties to engage in Workplace Mediation. A methodical approach to Workplace Mediation may help resolve conflicts, improve communication, restore trust and allow the parties to move forward. When is Workplace Mediation Appropriate? Workplace Mediation can be used to resolve a variety of workplace disputes. It can be helpful in cases where there is a dispute between employees who are both willing to resolve their differences. Workplace Mediation can also be used in the early stages of an employee’s grievance or potential disciplinaries to help promote resolutions without the need for formal action. It can also be used as a formal follow-up to formal proceedings. There is no set form to mediation and mediators can be flexible as to how the parties approach it. They can sit around a table and discuss […]
The CIPD’s latest research on how to deal with conflict at work found that just over a third (35 per cent) of employees experienced some form of conflict over the past year, whether that was an isolated incident or an ongoing difficult relationship. Some examples of unpleasant daily work situations experienced by UK employees every year are: A colleague is excluded from work conversations and not invited to a meeting when a new project is introduced. Another is cut off in the middle of answering a question Or pulled up for an easily remedied mistake The boss who overrides reasonable decisions or embarrasses someone in front of their workmates An employee is ‘encouraged’ to take on more work with the ‘incentive’ of holding on to their contract. Findings The report also found 15 per cent of employees have claimed to have suffered bullying at work over the past three years, with 8 per cent experiencing harassment of a non-sexual nature and 4 per cent sexual harassment. However, much more widespread are instances of lower-level conflict that can create the building blocks for the more serious incidents or bullying. Other causes for conflict maybe management who say one thing, yet do […]
Causes of Conflict Some people do not ask for help during conflicts at work because they are not always aware there is a problem or do not know when to ask for mediation. Conflict can arise in organisations because of miscommunication, misunderstanding, cultural differences, choice of language, poor leadership, ineffective management styles, unclear roles and responsibilities. As well as workplace issues creating conflict, work colleague’s personality types and personal issues are added to the mix at work, which can also create or exacerbate a conflict. Things like: personal problems at home, marital issues, cultural or gender differences, family problems, abrasive or submissive personalities (for instance, some personalities become annoyed with quiet, withdrawn type characters and others are fearful of loud or aggressive characters), some people are insensitivity to others feelings and what may seem trivial to one person could be a huge issue for another. Personal disappointments, coupled with unmet needs and a whole host of negative emotions, like guilt, fear or jealousy over promotion can also add to conflict. There are many emotions that are not directly related to work, but which people bring to the workplace that can cause conflict. The CIPD survey Managing Conflict at Work found […]
Clients regularly ask us does mediation work? Conflict is almost inevitable in most work relationships. Some conflict arises over technical issues – such as what tasks to do and how to do them which can be helpful at times as it drives a company forward to make improvements to processes and policies. However, interpersonal tension can easily damage relationships and lead to wider discord and malfunctioning teams. Some Facts 3 in 4 UK workers report good relationships with their line managers and almost 9 in 10 say they have good relationships with colleagues in their teams. By contrast, 1 in 10 reports a poor relationship with their line manager and 1 in 20 reports poor relationships with team colleagues. Despite this, a number of employees may experience flashpoints of conflict or unfair treatment at work: 3 in 10 workers report at least one form of bullying or harassment in the last year and 1 in 5 UK workers points to a blame culture among their managers and 1 in 5 also point to a lack of an inclusive culture in their teams. The organisational costs of conflict can include: management time being diverted to deal with the conflict instead of […]
We’re often asked by clients, “What is workplace mediation?”. Workplace Mediation is a completely voluntary and confidential way to resolve informal and formal conflict at work. It involves a professionally trained, independent, impartial person. The mediator helps two or more individuals or groups to reach a solution that’s acceptable to everyone. Therefore, a workplace mediator doesn’t make judgments or determine outcomes. However, they will ask questions that help to uncover underlying problems. They help the parties to understand each others issues. Therefore, the mediator helps them to clarify the options for resolving the parties differences. So, part of the answer to the question “What is workplace mediation?” is that it’s a way of finding a way forward. It focuses on working together to move forward, instead of determining who was right or wrong. It doesn’t guarantee an answer, but it can guarantee is the chance to resolve conflict more constructively. Mediation can be used in a variety of settings. For example: misunderstandings with conflict between colleagues conflict between staff and managers perceptions of harassment, discrimination or bullying communication difficulties Complementary Mediation complements formal procedures for workplace issues. It’s based on the principle of problem solving with a focus on the future and rebuilding relationships. A […]
