Dignity at Work and Study Procedure

1Table of Contents

2Procedure Scope and Purpose

3Roles and Responsibilities (RASCI)

4Procedure Detail

4.1Procedures for complaints made by staff members about other staff

4.1.1Procedure 1: Informal approaches to stopping the unwanted conduct

4.1.2Procedure 2: Workplace mediation – another option for informal conflict resolution

4.1.3Procedure 3: A formal complaint

4.2Procedures for complaints made by staff members about students or visitors

4.3Procedures for complaints made by students

4.3.1Procedure 1: Taking personal action

4.3.2Procedure 2: Making a formal complaint about the behaviour of a member of staff to the relevant School or Service.

4.3.3Procedure 3: Making a complaint about the behaviour of another student

5Related Policies

6Related Processes

7Related Procedures

8Monitoring and Performance of the Procedure

9Procedure sign-off and ownership details

10Revision History

11Appendices

Appendix 1: Points to bear in mind in relation to informal and formal complaints

Informal Complaints

Formal Complaints

2Procedure Scope and Purpose

Scope and Purpose: /
  • To provide procedures for staff and students to deal effectively with harassment, bullying and victimization.
  • To explain how everyone is expected across the University of Salford to contribute proactively to a culture of mutual respect in which everyone is treated with dignity.
  • To provide clear steps for managers, staff and students to follow when addressing bullying, harassment and victimization at work and study.

Implications of non adherence / Failure to comply can have implications at a number of levels. Bullying, harassment and victimization can lead to sanctions from the Courts and Employment Tribunals, and in some instances police action. At other levels where left unchallenged these behaviours can create an unhealthy and unproductive environment for work and study that lowers morale and creates tension and conflict.
Start point of the Procedure: / When it is brought to the attention of the University that a member of staff orstudent believes that they have been or are being bullied, harassed or victimised.
End Point of the Procedure: /
  1. Where staff and student actions and behaviours conform to the acceptable standards specified in the policy.
  2. Where process and procedures contained in the policy have been fulfilled.

Compliance and Regulatory requirements: / Leading statutory authority
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3242)
European Commission Recommendation 92/131/EEC and Code of Practice on the protection of the dignity of women and men at work (on the European Commission website)
Equality Act 2010
Who uses this process: / All managers staff and students

3Roles and Responsibilities (RASCI)

Position(s)
Responsible i.e. which position is responsible for ensuring that this procedure operates as required on a daily basis / Director of Student Life
Executive Director of Human Resources
Accountable i.e. which one position in the University is accountable for ensuring that this procedure is applied correctly / Deputy Vice Chancellor Registrar and Secretary
Supporting i.e. which positions are involved in delivering the procedure / All managers, staff and students
Consulting i.e. which positions need to be consulted if changes in the procedure are considered / Recognised Trade Unions
Chairs of University Staff Networks
Students Union
Executive Director of Human Resources
Director of Student Life
Head of Governance Services Unit
Informing i.e. which positions need to be informed about changes in the process / All staff and students

4Procedure Detail

4.1Procedures for complaints made by staff members about other staff

If you are a member of staff and feel offended or hurt by an act of bullying or harassment by another colleague – whether you are the intended target or not – you can challenge that behaviour in a number of ways.

This section will outline the broad options available to you. However, in the first instance, you may wish to seek advice from a Bullying and Harassment Advisor. They are staff volunteers who have been trained to provide an informal and confidential advice service on a 1-2-1 basis. Their role is to listen and help you decide what you want to do next to stop the unwanted behaviour. Further details on this service are available on the web

Basically, your options range from making the most informal approaches to the person you consider to be the source of the unwanted behaviour to raising a complaint under the Staff Grievance Procedure. Advice on each of the main options is set out below.

4.1.1Procedure 1: Informal approaches to stopping the unwanted conduct

In many situations, making a personal approach can be the most effective way to raise your concern, especially if the person who is the source of the unwanted behaviour is unaware of the effect of their conduct. To make that approach, you could start in an indirect way. For example, you could:

  • enlist the help of a colleague to find ways of bringing the topic of bullying or harassment into a conversation in the presence of the person causing the offence, or
  • ask for bullying and harassment, or the University’s Dignity at Work and Study Policy, to be discussed at a team meeting to ensure all colleagues are aware of the issues.

If this does not work, or you feel it is inappropriate, you could speak, or write, directly to the person causing offence and explain, as clearly as possible, what it is you consider unacceptable about their behaviour.

If you do not wish to use any of these approaches, or have done so without success, you could raise an informal complaint through another party. To do this you can seek help through:

  • your line manager (or that person’s line manager if the complaint is about them);
  • the HR Business Partner / HR Advisor for your area; or your
  • trade union representative (if you are a member of that union).

Whoever you approach, you should provide the following information, if at all possible:

  • the name of the person or people about whom you are complaining;
  • what you find unwelcome about their behaviour (provide examples, where possible, including dates, times and locations of any incidents);
  • the impact their behaviour is having on you;
  • the actions that have already been taken, if any, to stop the behaviour and the results of those actions.

And whoever you confide in, it will be that person’s responsibility to explore with you all the opportunities for resolving the complaint informally, to act sensitively and with your full agreement, and to ensure your line manager (or their manager, if your complaint is about your manager) is aware of the action being taken since they have ultimate, legal responsibility for providing a safe working environment for all their staff. However, in those rare instances when they consider the offence too serious to be tackled informally – such as a physical assault or an act of hate crime – they must advise you that formal action will have to be taken, either through the staff disciplinary procedure or by contacting the police.

4.1.2Procedure 2: Workplace mediation – another option for informal conflict resolution

As a member of staff, you also have the option of resolving issues informally through the University’s Workplace Mediation Service. This service provides an impartial third party – the mediator – who enables both sides to a workplace conflict to come together to resolve their differences. It is a voluntary process: it only works if both sides are willing to find a win-win solution. It is also confidential: no-one is informed about the outcome of the mediation without the agreement of both parties, and all notes taken by the mediators during the process are destroyed at the end of the mediation session. The University’s mediators are staff volunteers, who are both trained and supervised by an external mediation agency, the TCM Group, to ensure the service is delivered in a professional manner.

Workplace mediation can be accessed through:

  • one of the University’s mediators, whose contact details are available on the web [insert web address]; or
  • a HR Business Partner / HR Advisor for your area; or
  • your line manager, or Head of Service/Head of School/College Registrar; or
  • a trade union representative (if you are a trade union member).

More information on the mediation service is available on:

4.1.2.1How managers should respond to an informal complaint

In all cases, when receiving an informal complaint, managers should seek advice from their HR Adviser at an early stage to determine what happens next.

If the complaint in question is about, or implicates, the local HR Adviser, then, instead of seeking guidance from that officer, advice should be sought from the HR Business Partner.

In responding to, or investigating, a complaint, managers have access to published guidance from various sources – for example:

■ ACAS document entitled Bullying and harassment at work: a guide for managers and employers – available at

■ Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) guide entitled Dignity at Work:good practice guidance for HE institutions, which is available at

■ Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) guidance for managers on workplace bullying – available at

The line manager and/or Human Resources must always take full account of the wider implications of any complaint. For example, they should consider whether a case of bullying or harassment might be part of a larger pattern of such behaviour within an office.

4.1.3Procedure 3: A formal complaint

You can make a formal complaint of harassment, bullying or victimisation if:

  • you have raised a complaint previously by taking personal action, making an informal complaint or following a process of mediation, but you feel that the issue has not been properly resolved, or
  • the alleged behaviour is serious enough to warrant a formal complaint without going through the previous stages.

A formal complaint raised in accordance with Dignity at Work and Study Policy will be handled as a “grievance”. The ’formal complaint’ flowchart outlines the procedure for making and dealing with a formal complaint and shows how this fits in with the University grievance procedures.

Before making aformal complaint, you may wish to consult Appendix 3 of the DW&S Policy document which lists the sources of support that are available to you.

4.1.3.1Information you should provide in your formal complaint

You should:

  • identify clearly the name of the person/people about whom the complaint is made
  • be clear about the nature of the behaviour about which the complaint is made (making reference, where possible, to the relevant section of any policy that was allegedly breached by this behaviour)
  • provide an indication of the impact that this behaviour has had
  • provide examples, where available, of the behaviour or conduct you find inappropriate
  • include information about the times and locations of any incidents, where possible
  • provide an initial indication of whether anyone else might have observed the behaviour in question
  • describe any action that has already been taken to challenge or stop the behaviour and the outcome of any such action
  • sign and date the written formal complaint.

The procedure for making and dealing with a formal complaint is set out in Flow Chart 1

Flow Chart 1

4.2Procedures for complaints made by staff members about studentsor visitors

If you are a member of staff and feel that you are being bullied or harassed by a student or group of students, or by one of more visitors to campus, a number of options for tackling that behaviour are available to you under this Policy. You could consider an informal approach, such as,

  • speaking directly to the persons involved to make them aware of the impact of their behaviour on you; or
  • asking your manager or head of school/service, or the college registrar, to approach the persons on your behalf.

If you decide to make a formal compliant your approach will depend upon the source of the unwanted conduct or treatment. Should you wish to complain about a student’s behaviour you could initially ask your manager to pursue your complaint through the student disciplinary procedure (visit: )

If the source of the unwanted conduct is a visitor (including any employees of external contractors) and remains serious or persistent then you should consider making a complaint through the staff grievance procedure against your manager. The same advice would apply if the source of the unwanted conduct was a student.

4.3Procedures for complaints made by students

If you are a student and feel offended or hurt by an act of bullying or harassment by another student, a member of staff, or a visitor to the campus – whether you are the intended target or not – you can challenge that behaviour in a number of ways.

This section will outline the broad options available to you. However, in the first instance, you may wish to seek advice from a Bullying and Harassment Advisor.

(visit: ) They are staff volunteers who have been trained to provide an informal and confidential advice service on a 1-2-1 basis. Their role is to listen and help you decide what you want to do next to stop the unwanted behaviour.

Basically, your options range from making the most informal approaches to the person you consider to be the source of the unwanted behaviour to raising a formal complaint. Advice on each of the main options is set out below:

4.3.1Procedure 1: Taking personal action

Generally, complaints are most easily resolved if they are raised at the time the problem first occurs and with the person(s) directly involved. In many situations, a personal approach can be the most effective way to raise concerns, especially if the person who is the source of the unwanted behaviour is unaware of the effect of their conduct. To make that approach you could start in an indirect way. For example, you could ask another student in your group to raise the topic of bullying or harassment in a conversation in the presence of the person causing the offence.

If you decide to raise your concerns directly with the person concerned, face-to-face, you might wish to invite someone else to be present when you are having the conversation. If you decide to raise your concerns in writing, you should keep copies of relevant pieces of correspondence. In either case, it may be advisable to note down factual information.

4.3.2Procedure 2: Making a formal complaint about the behaviour of a member of staff to the relevant School or Service.

If you feel that you have been, or are being, subjected to harassment, bullying or victimisation from a member of staff at the University, and you cannot, or feel unable to, resolve your concerns informally, you should consider raising the issue with the relevant School or Service. In this situation, a useful starting point might be to have a conversation with another member of staff within the relevant School or Service to raise the complaint verbally. In some situations, this may be sufficient and lead to an appropriate resolution. In other cases, you may feel it is appropriate, or you may be advised, to put your complaint in writing to the relevant Head of School or Head of Service (or where appropriate, the Dean or College Registrar). (visit: )

4.3.3Procedure 3: Making a complaint about the behaviour of another student

If you feel you are unable or cannot resolve your concerns by making an informal or personal approach then you can raise the compliant through the student disciplinary procedure.

If the behaviour concerned has taken place between students who are living in university accommodation, the appropriate person to speak to is a Student Adviser located in Student Life at University House, Adelphi Building or Allerton Building. If this situation arises in a different context, or if you’re unsure of who to speak to, then you should seek advice from the Student Life Advice Desk (iSite).

5Related Policies

Policy Name / Location
Dignity at Work and Study Policy /
Mediation Policy /
Code of Conduct for Students /

6Related Processes

Process Name / Location

7Related Procedures

Procedure Name / Location
Mediation Procedure /
Grievance Procedure /
Disciplinary Procedure /
Student Complaints Procedure /

8Monitoring and Performance of the Procedure

Records: / Where formal action in accordance with the University’s Grievance or Disciplinary Procedures takes place records will be kept in accordance with those requirements.
Where mediated agreements occur, the Mediation Service is administered by TCM Ltd. Mediation Agreements are confidential to the parties.
The Bullying and Harassment Advisers will maintain records of contact and referral for monitoring purposes
Monitoring application of the Procedure: / The Bullying & Harassment advisers maintain records of contact and referral of cases to other services.
Where the Mediation Service is utilized the responsibility for management at University level is located in the Governance Service Unit. This responsibility includes receipt of regular reports from TCM on case work, reports on any urgent matters and administration of mediation facilities as required by the SLA.
Where the University’s Grievance or Disciplinary procedure are invoked, records in accordance with theseprocedures will be maintained andmonitored by Human Resources
Performance Indicators: / Number of cases referred to the Bullying and Harassment Advisers
Number of cases referred to TCM Ltd for Mediation
Number of mediation cases not resolved
Number of mediation cases resolved
Number of grievanceprocedure cases and outcomes
Number of disciplinary procedure cases and outcomes
Outcome of Student Survey’s and consultations
Outcomes of relevant sections of Staff Experience Survey
Training and Support for the Procedure: / The Bullying and Harassment Advisers are a voluntary network who have been trained in-house in partnership with the TCM Ltd. The University will continue to ensure their professional development through regular training sessions.
The University’s employee mediation service is the product of a partnership between Salford and the TCM Group. The core of this new service is a network of volunteer mediators made up of staff who are trained and nationally accredited through the Open College Network. To ensure the independence of that service, the TCM Group supervises our internal mediators, ensure their professional development through regular training sessions, and handle all queries from Salford employees and managers about the service.
In relation to managers who have roles identified in the procedures, the University will continue ensure their professional development through regular training sessions, and updating of their knowledge and skills.

9Proceduresign-off and ownership details