There seems to be an increase in people taking offence on behalf of others i.e. about issues that don’t affect them personally.
This can sometimes be a good thing as, in keeping with the British sense of fair play and protecting the underdog, nobody wants to see weaker or vulnerable people bullied or discriminated against so complaints like these give organisations the opportunity to deal with any unfairness.
However, there are also those serial complainers who believe the whole world should dance to their oversensitive tune and who, genuinely or otherwise, act horrified by minor issues that are nothing to do with them and then make it their business to get involved and try and force organisations to act when there really is no need.
Once the employer has looked into the complaint and established that there’s not a genuine issue it is fine to tell the individual that there will be no further investigation and no action will be taken despite their protests.
The only real exceptions, where caution should be shown, is if the complainant has a connection to the issue being complained of e.g. a joke made against disabled people when they have a disabled child or an individual with a Muslim partner who complains about a joke made about Islam as, under such circumstances complaints and also Tribunal applications can be made ‘by association’.
This, and many other relevant issues regarding acting on comments made at work are covered in the low cost, highly effective ‘banter and behaviour in the workplace’ e-learning course from 186hr Limited. See below for details, including a 2 minute demo that covers a well known sexual harassment case discussed in the training.
Banter & Behaviour in the Workplace
This new e-learning course describes the various forms of harassment and discrimination in an easy-to-understand format so organisations can appreciate where the bar is at work between acceptable behaviour and that which is likely to lead to a grievance or successful Tribunal claim.
The 40 minute course, developed in partnership with the excellent eLearning specialist e-aspire costs £49.95, with discounts available for bulk purchases e.g. if you decide to train the whole team or your management team – which is highly recommended.
If you have any queries about the course, discrimination or harassment in general, please don’t hesitate to contact us.