A short answer to this important question would be ‘treating someone less favourably in a way that relates to a ‘protected characteristic’ such as their race, sex, sexual orientation etc.’
Don’t worry about the difference between the 2 terms, that is more for lawyers. For employers, the key is to recognise and then tackle behaviours that may offend others and / or lead to a harassment or discrimination claim against the organisation.
In these litigious days it is so important that managers and their teams know a bit about this subject so they can avoid offending colleagues, customers, bystanders etc and also tackle behaviours that cross the line. The only effective way of achieving this is through training.
On a legal course we attended Acas defined harassment as:
Unwanted conduct related to relevant protected characteristics that:
- Has the purpose of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person: or
- Is reasonably considered by that person to have the effect of violating his / her dignity or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for him / her, even if this effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.
This definition is a good starting point when deciding what should be included in training courses organisations should roll out to their teams. By the end of any such training, everyone should have a good idea of:
- What is harassment, discrimination, and how are they different to bullying?
- What are the various ‘protected characteristics’ you need to be aware of?
- What types of behaviour are likely to be found to be harassment?
- Does it matter legally if the individual didn’t intend to offend anyone?
- What is the earliest point in the employment relationship that an individual can claim against a company for discrimination? (the answer may surprise / worry you).
- How do you keep your strong culture where people enjoy their working relationships, without creating an atmosphere where people are scared to say anything in case they are disciplined?
- How should you tackle those who go over the top, ideally in a constructive way that doesn’t result in you having to dismiss half of your workforce?
- Which behaviours are so serious they should be treated as gross misconduct?
In our 40 minute ‘banter and behaviour in the workplace’ e-learning course we cover all of this, and more.
Take a look at the 2-minute demo below for a flavour of how the tricky subject of sexual harassment is approached in the course, through an interesting example from an actual legal case.
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.
On the course we aid the learning process and keep individuals’ interest by including lots of real life examples that stay in the memory, often from actual tribunals so learners can understand exactly what types of behaviour may cause offence and should be avoided, and also how to tackle those who make distasteful remarks or act in a way that may offend others.
There is also an end of course quiz where all who pass receive a certificate. This can prove to be very good evidence at tribunal that you are a responsible employer that has trained your team in how to avoid harassing or discriminating against colleagues and others. It may just tip the balance in your favour!
If you have any queries about the course, sexual harassment or discrimination in general please don’t hesitate to contact us. Discounts are available for bulk purchases e.g. if you wish to train the whole team or management team.