Dealing with reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination
Our research shows that rates of bullying, harassment, and discrimination are disproportionately high in the film and TV industry.
It’s also one of the main contributors to poor mental health and a major reason why people decide to leave the industry.
In this section, which is aimed at employers, line managers, and bystanders, you can find out about:
- Your duty of care towards employees or people you manage
- How to implement a robust reporting process
- Listen, Acknowledge, Act – our guides that can help you take action to support employees or colleagues who experience bullying, harassment, or discrimination
Support with bullying and harrassment
If you’re experiencing bullying, harrassment or discrimination at work, we can support you.
Your duty to employees
52% of respondents to our Looking Glass Survey called for better line management or training to help tackle bullying, harassment, and discrimination. 45% of those in management roles who had dealt with complaints of bullying said they didn’t feel properly skilled to do so. And two thirds of that group said they wanted more line management training to help them deal with these kinds of complaints.
By law, employers must do everything they reasonably can to protect staff from bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation. This includes protecting:
- Employees and workers
- Contractors and self-employed staff
- Job applicants
They also have a legal responsibility – known as a ‘duty of care’ – to take reasonable care of the health and safety of employees, and to provide a safe workplace.
A culture of good communication, clearly defined roles, constructive feedback, and sound onboarding and exit processes all play an important part in creating that environment. Advocating a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, encouraging people to be open about issues they are dealing with, and supporting colleagues to approach problems collaboratively can all go a long way to reducing areas of potential conflict. Approaches like these go a long way to creating an environment where bullying behaviour is unable to thrive.
Our Whole Picture Toolkit includes lots of advice about the importance of creating a mentally healthy environment, where risk is properly assessed and appropriate support is provided.
The HR Toolkit from Screenskills also contains guidance for employers about onboarding, feedback, and exit processes to help support a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Some of these issues are complex, and appropriate training is key. You may need support from HR professionals or legal experts to meet the needs of your team.
How to implement a robust reporting process
We know that, across the industry, faith in reporting bullying and harassment is low – both in terms of the number of people who feel confident enough to share their concerns with their employer, and in terms of how it had been handled and whether they were happy with the outcome.
Organisations have an important part to play in stopping bullying, harassment, and discrimination and should have anti-bullying policies that are easily accessible by employees.
Having an Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy in place can provide clarity and may help prevent problems from escalating. If your organisation doesn’t already have a policy in place, you can adapt the Dignity At Work Policy template created by the BFI and Bectu.
The policy should identify what constitutes bullying, harassment, and discrimination and it should:
- Have a clear message that these behaviours will not be tolerated
- Set out preventative measures
- Explain how individuals can raise concerns
- Provide guidance about the process you will follow to deal with any concerns which are raised with you
- Set out appropriate timelines
- Signpost to sources of support such as our Bullying Advice Service
Acas has produced a comprehensive range of guidance for employers to help deal with reports of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
Remember that bullying and harassment are considered differently in law – bullying is covered by different pieces of workplace legislation, but harassment and discrimination are unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.
Listen, Acknowlegde, Act
Our guides offer some simple but effective steps to help people deal with reports of bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
