Yes!! Next!!
The good news is it is relatively straightforward to do. Let’s say this was said to a straight person by a straight colleague in an open office, believing it to be harmless banter. Why does that need to be challenged? Has the world gone mad?
First, it may help to consider who may be offended by comments like this, and why?
Clearly, anyone who hears the comment or who is later told about it may be offended. It may not be immediately obvious why they were offended, maybe because:
- they are gay themselves but have not told their colleagues.
- they have a gay family member, or friends.
- they may have been bullied over something else and know how it feels when people make remarks like this.
Not all of these examples would result in a successful Tribunal claim against the organisation for harassment, but all would be legitimate complaints where the employer should act.
Employers really do need to train their managers and teams in these issues, especially following the law change in October last year. We believe banter is generally healthy and should not be stamped out, but clearly employers will not want it to result in offence and all the problems that can cause.
What to look out for and how to tackle such ‘banter’ that goes a little too far in a highly effective way without having to sack half your workforce is covered in 186hr Limited’s ‘banter and behaviour in the workplace’ 40-minute e-learning course.
It costs £49.95, with discounts available for bulk purchases e.g. if you wish to train the whole management team. Click on the below link for further details or to purchase the course.
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.
Developed in conjunction with the brilliant e-aspire e-learning specialist, the course covers the main legal points through explaining actual Tribunal examples rather than droning on about complicated legal clauses so learners remain interested and engaged. A 2-minute sex discrimination example can be accessed via the above link to give you a flavour.
For more details about the course, HR, discrimination or harassment in general please contact us. We would love you hear from you.