7+ Harassment Policy Templates
It is never a good thing to receive sample reports that one of your employees is being harassed by a coworker. In the current workplace climate where more and more women (and men, too) are coming forward about their experiences of being harassed, it has become ever more important for business owners and professional managers to stay on top of this issue and formulate the appropriate responses to incidents.
In order for you to do that, you have to create a comprehensive company policy for the protection of all your employees. Here are some useful tips and samples that will help you do this task: You may also see hr policies.
Policy Template Bundle
Harassment Policy Template
Restaurant Sexual Harassment Policy Template
Harassment Policy Sample
Sample Harassment Policy Form
un.org
Harassment-free Workplace Policy Form
jnj.com
Harassment and Bullying Policy for Students
hw.ac.uk
Define what is considered as harassment
Work with Human Resources so you can come up with a well-defined meaning of harassment in the workplace. Be as specific as possible while leaving a little room for interpretation since harassment can take on many forms throughout time. Make sure you include information that defines what constitutes as harassment against someone’s:
- Race
- Color
- Gender
- Religion
- Nationality
- Age
- Disability
If you think that there is anything left out, update the general policy as soon as you can to ensure that everyone in the company understands that they cannot commit any form of harassment.
Be sure there are no exceptions
Whether it is one employee harassing the other or a supervisor harassing one of the newest members of the team, you have to make it very clear that nobody is exempted from punishment if they violate the harassment company policy. Everyone has to face the consequences of their actions, including employee termination in severe cases.
Encourage employees to report harassment
State in the policy that employees should submit reports whenever they become a victim of harassment or they see someone who has been harassed. If allowed to go on, then the effects that harassment can have on an employee can be severe. This might cause them to leave the company proposal, and you would end up losing a valuable employee. It could even drive them to a point where they become violent and take out their frustration on the oppressor. Encourage any witnesses of harassment to report generally them as soon as possible by stating it in your harassment policy.
Harassment and Discrimination Example Form
bcit.ca
Sexual Harassment Policy Form
ilo.org
Ensure victim confidentiality
An employee’s privacy is something that you should definitely respect, so you have to guarantee that information regarding harassment does not leak out to anyone other than those involved. Otherwise, if you share information regarding the harassment investigation report with anyone you feel like talking to, that would be a breach of privacy and something that you could be legally liable for in court. So, be careful how you handle this kind of information. You may also see privacy policy
Determine the course of disciplinary action
Once everything is said and done, and you have found that a particular employee is guilty of harassment, then you may decide to warn the employee, hand out a notice of suspension, or simply terminate that person on the spot. Of course, this all depends on the severity of the situation but, ultimately, it is up to you to decide how you are going to handle the situation.
If you would like assistance in crafting other company policies, be sure to read our related articles.