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Global Bullying and Harassment Policy

Juraj Kecso

| 0 Posts

2 Feb, 2023 13:39

I am in the process of reviewing and streamlining our policies and one such is our bullying and harassment policy. Every country we operate in has their own legal definition of harassment and what characteristics are protected from discrimination under their respective legislations.

Is it possible (and legal) to introduce one single policy applicable anywhere we operate which would in general terms provide our definition of harassment (or unacceptable zero-tolerance behaviours) without the need to refer to 4 separate sets of legislations?

For example, unlike UK or Australia, in Ireland protected characteristics also include being a part of the traveler community. However, that does not mean that we'd tolerate someone in the UK being derogatory towards a colleague belonging in this group even if UK Equality Act does not specify traveler community as a protected characteristic.

Am I overthinking this?

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  • Robey

    | 0 Posts

    2 Feb, 2023 15:44

    Am I overthinking this?

    Maybe a little bit.

    It's entirely possible to write a procedure that either incorporates a definition wide enough to accommodate all of the international variations if you're prepared to be throwing a wider net than specific geographies require as a minimum standard.

    Alternatively, you can simply defer to local standards in all cases and say so in the procedure (probably laying out the differences in an appendix, if you feel like you must).
  • Juraj Kecso

    | 0 Posts

    2 Feb, 2023 16:40

    In reply to Robey:

    Thanks.

    I have listed all the basic protected characteristics I could think of and also added the following that should be enough to not having to list all relevant pieces of legislations from each country:


    "How harassment is defined can vary depending on the laws of the countries in which we operate.

    However, even if someone’s misconduct does not meet the local legal definition of harassment (for example the conduct was not related to a characteristic legally recognised by local legislation as protected), we still reserve the right to decide whether the conduct was acceptable (for example, it may fall under the definition of bullying) and take appropriate disciplinary action."
  • Peter Stanway

    | 0 Posts

    3 Feb, 2023 14:06

    In reply to Robey:

    I would add that seeing a policy as purely being about legislative definitions somewhat misses the point. It is about dignity at work and the reason that (in part) it is a bullying (and harassment) policy is that bullying as such is not strictly unlawful uit that does not make it right.
    If it is only 4 jurisdictions then there is no reason not to encompass all 4. Any more and I might hesitate. Its a bit like disciplinary rules; you should list the 'biggies' but have some words which suggest the list is just illustrative and not prescriptive.
  • Juraj Kecso

    | 0 Posts

    3 Feb, 2023 14:29

    In reply to Peter Stanway:

    Hi Peter,

    The point you are making is exactly why I would like to move away from referencing the dozen or so laws of 4 separate countries when defining harassment.

    What is harassment may differ from one country to another (and some countries may have no legislation covering harassment at all), but that should not mean you have to tolerate behaviour that does not meet its exact legal definition.
  • Agnes

    | 0 Posts

    4 Jun, 2023 20:42

    You can have both global and local policies. The global policy would provide a standardised approach or guideline for the company to follow across all locations. However, local policy and laws must always take precedence, so I suggest you mention it in your global policy. Also, it is important that both global and local policies are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure compliance with regulations and laws in all jurisdictions where your company operates.
  • Helen

    | 0 Posts

    6 Jun, 2023 13:02

    In reply to Agnes:

    We have a Global Grievance Policy that incorporates bullying and harassment even though some of the UK's protected characteristics are actually illegal in one of our operating countries. We have different procedures that depend on the legislation of the country (e.g. in Malaysia, the HR teams have the control and decision making role) but so far the approach seems to be working.
    www.hw.ac.uk/.../global-grievance-policy-procedure.pdf