Harassment generally takes the form of unwanted conduct, which affects the dignity of women and men at work. This may be related to your disability, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, marital status or trade union or non-trade union membership.
Harassment may be deliberate and conscious, but it can also be unintentional. Harassing behaviour might for example include:
Find out whether your employer has a policy about harassment at work, what it says and how you might go about raising such issues with management.
Make sure you make a note of the behaviour you believe to be harassment, when it took place and by whom.
If your employer does have a harassment policy, there may be trained counsellors identified within it to whom you can go and talk in confidence. If you are a member of a trade union, talk to your union representative.
If the harassment is related to a protected characteristic (eg sex, race or disability) you might wish to contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
If you feel confident enough you might wish to talk to the individual(s) you believe is/are displaying harassing behaviour. Explain your feelings and ask him/her/them to change their behaviour.
If the behaviour persists, whether you have spoken to the culprits or not, you may have to follow your organisation's policy on harassment. If the organisation does not have a specific policy you may have to use your organisation's grievance procedure. You have a legal right to be accompanied at the grievance meeting.
If you are being harassed by your manager, your employer should make sure that your complaint is dealt with by another manager, preferably one at a more senior level.
If you're thinking of bringing a claim to an employment tribunal (for sexual or racial harassment for example), you should normally use the grievance procedure first. A claim must usually be made promptly, and in any event, within 3 months of the discriminatory act, even where your grievance has not yet been heard.
If you are in a union, then you can speak to a representative for advice. If you are not a union member, then you might want to talk to a solicitor (there might be a charge for such a meeting), your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Law Centre, or ACAS (08457 474747).
In extreme cases, it is possible to take legal action under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Such harassment could amount to a criminal offence.
