Workplace Harassment: New Code of Good Practice

Is someone bullying a colleague at work?

Spreading rumours about you?

Degrading you at the workplace for example picking on you or picking on your clothes or maybe even set you up to fail at the workplace?

Are they excluding you from participating in the workplace, excluding you from meetings? If they’re giving you any kind of unfair treatment compared to your colleagues that would be a form of harassment. Not all harassment is sexual, there are other types of harassment.

Sadly, even in this cutting-edge, modern-day workplace millions of workers worldwide suffer the scars of workplace harassment and bullying.

What can you do about workplace harassment?

The most important thing is to speak up about it.

It’s difficult because it’s your workplace and you want to keep your job, you have your bills to pay, you’ve got your family and if you speak up you feel you’re going to just be further victimized, but the reality is if you don’t speak up it can only get worse from there.

You can go to someone of authority in the workplace, for example, someone who works in HR or maybe anyone who has the power to help you in that situation. Talk to them about it, if there is a union in the workplace, talk to your union representative.

The reason why is because employers have a duty to create a safe working environment for you. A safe working environment goes beyond physical safety, it also includes mental and emotional safety as well and if you are constantly being bullied, threatened, degraded, or victimized – you can’t perform at your best.

It is also important to make sure that there is a grievance policy or procedure available in the workplace. If there’s no formal grievance, step two would then be to send something in writing, at a later stage if you decide need to go to the CCMA, this evidence can help you.

If you work in a very small business, there might not be an HR person to speak to but that’s why it’s important to send an email.

What would go in the email:

Dear Joe

I’m writing you this email about the way I’m currently being treated by X, Y and Z. Specifically they are doing (list what they have done to you) against me I do not feel comfortable about this.

Please can you ask them to stop?

I look forward to hearing from you

A simple email like that could help or if you send a WhatsApp make sure you screenshot that.

If these steps fail, your next option is to defer the matter to the CCMA.

The newly affected code of good practice on the prevention and elimination of harassment in the workplace, empowers victims to act against all manner of workplace abuses, bullying and harassment.

The CCMA will have a conciliation and an arbitration process.

If you earn less than the amount set by the minister in terms of the Labour Relations Act, the CMMA commissioner will then advise the employer in terms of the correct way of handling it.

You have a right in terms of the Labour Relations Act to work in a safe environment, not just physically safe but mentally and emotionally.

Many employees lose or leave their jobs after workplace harassment or bullying. In a country such as ours, where unemployment figures have reached an all-time high and the loss of a job has devasting consequences, we need to fight against it so that it can be prevented.