Tackling Bullying, Harassment, Racism and Discrimination

What is the purpose of the policy?

Manchester Animation Festival is committed to promoting equality, diversity and an inclusive and supportive environment for all its staff and visitors, affirming the rights of individuals to be treated fairly and with respect. We do not tolerate bullying and or harassment, racism or any other forms of discrimination.

We have a duty of care to protect you, we will make it our priority to support you if you experience problems with bullying or harassment or racism. This policy is designed to help us do that. If you have a problem with bullying, harassment or racism we encourage you to use the support available to try to resolve it as early as possible. We will investigate any complaint that you bring to our attention in a fair, independent and confidential way and, after considering all the facts, we will take prompt and appropriate action. Informal resolution is also a route available to you to deal with bullying or harassment or racism.

Who does the policy apply to?

This policy applies to everybody working for Manchester Animation Festival. This includes full-time and part-time staff, freelancers, board members, and volunteers. It can be used by anyone experiencing bullying or harassment at work, work-related events such as social functions or business trips, as well as via telephone, email, text messages and online.

All those working with Manchester Animation Festival are expected to comply fully with the terms of this bullying and harassment policy and to uphold these values at all times.

Manchester Animation Festival regards acts of bullying, harassment, racism and discrimination as a serious disciplinary matter. Those found to be acting in an unacceptable manner towards others may find their employment or engagement at risk. Visitors to MAF who harass or bully staff will be asked to leave and may be banned from attending in future.

BULLYING AND HARASSMENT

Bullying or harassment can take place face-to-face, behind your back, by telephone, email, text, online, social media or any other form of communication.

Bullying and harassment can be:

Intentional or unintentional, targeted at an individual or a group  
Not specifically targeted but have an overall impact that creates a negative work  environment Repeated behaviour over a period of time, or one isolated incident
Between workers and/or managers at the same or different levels in the organisation  
In the same or different departments or areas of work within or outside of the  organisation
Between employees, workers and external contractors and/or clients within or outside of the organisation
Mobbing – when more than one person is involved  
Neglect or marginalisation  
During daily work activities, at work-organised events held on-site or off-site, inside  and outside of working hours  
Face-to-face, over the telephone, by email, text messages and online, e.g. social media platforms.

If you are asked to stop any bullying or harassing behaviour, STOP immediately.

Bullying

Bullying is the misuse of power or position to persistently criticise or condemn, to openly humiliate and undermine an individual’s ability until this person becomes so fearful that they lose confidence in themselves.

Bullying – could include:

verbal and/or physical intimidation – threats, shouting, derisory remarks often made in front of others
ostracism, or conversely excessive supervision
undermining an individual’s position by changing work objectives/guidelines without consultation, taking credit for the target’s work, deriding their work etc.
removing areas of responsibility and giving people menial or trivial tasks
withholding information
spreading malicious rumours
persistent criticism
messages, including electronic mail, that are threatening, derisory or defamatory

Harassment

Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct which is related to a protected characteristic of the Equality Act 2010 (age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation), which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity, or creating for that person an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

Any behaviour which shows lack of respect and which creates an atmosphere in which people feel uncomfortable and unwelcome can constitute harassment.

The behaviours displayed will vary according to the type of harassment, this list is not exhaustive:

Sexual Harassment (applies equally to all genders) – could include

any behaviour that patronises, intimidates or offends e.g. remarks, looks, jokes or offensive language
any behaviour which makes people feel viewed as sexual objects and causes offence, even if unintended
provocative suggestions, propositioning
displays of pornographic or suggestive material, electronic or paper
deliberate, potentially objectionable physical contact to which a person has not consented or had the opportunity to object to
threats or promises of reward in exchange for sexual favours.

Racial Harassment – could include:

any behaviour which causes discomfort, intimidates or offends or which incites others to do so, this includes derogatory names, insults, racist jokes or ridiculing cultural differences
the display or circulation of offensive material including racist graffiti; electronic or paper
verbal abuse and threats of physical violence

Personal Harassment – can include:

behaviour that makes direct or indirect reference to disability or impairment and thus causes discomfort, patronises, insults or offends people with physical, sensory or mental impairments
behaviour that makes direct or indirect reference to religion or beliefs thereby causing offence or discomfort
repeated jibes in reference to personal traits, appearance, sexual orientation & gender identity
persistent misgendering of staff members after being told on several occasions their correct pronouns
invasion of privacy or practical jokes causing physical or psychological distress
pressure to become involved in anti-social behaviour
messages to or about a person, including electronic mail, that are offensive, insulting or cause discomfort

DISCRIMINATION & VICTIMISATION

Manchester Animation Festival opposes discrimination of any kind. The Equality Act 2010 sets out the different ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone, such as direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation. The act covers nine protected characteristics (age, sex, disability, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation). Details of these unlawful ways to treat someone can be found below:

Direct Discrimination
Occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person of a protected characteristic

Discrimination by association
This is direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic

Discrimination by perception
This is discrimination against an individual because others think they possess a protected characteristic, it applies even if the person does not actually possess that characteristic

Indirect Discrimination
Occurs when a company has a rule, policy or practice which applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic.

Victimisation
This is when you are treated badly because you have made a complaint of protected characteristic related discrimination under the Equality Act. It can also occur if you are supporting someone who has made a complaint of protected characteristic related discrimination.

Note: There are some circumstances when being treated differently due to protected characteristics is lawful in employment situations for example if a protected characteristic is essential for the job (occupational requirement) or if an organisation is taking positive action to encourage or develop people in a racial group that is under-represented or disadvantaged in a role or activity.  

PROCEDURE

Manchester Animation Festival will take seriously any complaints of harassment, bullying or discrimination and will seek to create an environment where staff who believe that they are subject to sexual, racial or other forms of harassment including bullying and discrimination should not feel they are to blame or that they have to tolerate this behaviour.

We will never victimise, unfairly treat or discipline anybody who makes a genuine formal or informal complaint about bullying and harassment. We will respect and maintain your confidentiality and will speak to anybody involved about their responsibility to maintain confidentiality on the issue. As we have a duty to protect you and your colleagues, there may be times we decide to act on your complaint independently. In these situations, we will inform you of the outcome of our investigations if you wish to know.

Manchester Animation Festival will take action …

when the people involved are full-time and part-time staff, freelancers, board members, volunteers and attendees to the festival
when the behaviour causing harassment takes place during any Manchester Animation Festival event

You can use our informal or formal processes to resolve your complaint although where possible, we encourage you to try to resolve any problems informally in the first instance. If you want to raise a complaint or discuss the procedure, please contact jen@manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk in the first instance or should there be any issues contacting Jen, please contact bill@manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk

Informal

If you have a complaint about bullying and harassment or racism, you may want to resolve problems informally where appropriate, before using the formal process. To address a complaint informally, you should:

try to resolve your complaint as early as possible, if you feel able, to reduce stress and worry for you and possibly the other person involved.
speak to anyone involved in the situation about how their behaviour is affecting you. It can be helpful to describe particular instances of this behaviour, including times, places, events or conversations in order to clearly illustrate your point. You should use the opportunity to ask the person to change or stop their behaviour. If you feel unable to speak to the person yourself, you can approach your manager, or if the complaint is about your manager, another member of the Senior Management Team.
remember that the other person may be unaware of their behaviour and the impact it has on you, and your informal feedback may give the person a better understanding and opportunity to change or stop their behaviour.

Formal

If you do not feel that the informal process is a viable option for addressing your complaint, or if you have already pursued the informal process and your issue persists, you may decide to follow the formal process for addressing complaints. Any action taken will be agreed with the complainant who will be kept informed. A timescale will be agreed which will take into account the need to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

We ask you to put your formal complaint in writing and send it to your manager, if the complaint is about your manager, another member of the Senior Management Team. It should include full details of your complaint including a detailed account of the incident, the date it took place, who was involved including any witnesses, and any action you may have taken. This will provide the best opportunity to fairly and reasonably investigate your complaint while details of what took place can readily be remembered by anyone involved. We understand this may not be possible in all cases and will investigate any complaint made in good faith.
Once a formal complaint has been submitted the manager will send you written acknowledgement of the complaint.
we will arrange a meeting with you to discuss the problem, please note you have the right to be accompanied at the meeting and we may need to speak to other witnesses  
the decision about your case will be made and communicated to you including any associated recommendations or appropriate action
if you are unhappy with the result you will have the right to appeal

What to do if you witness bullying or harassment or racism  

We all have a responsibility for ensuring a safe working environment for ourselves and others.

If you have witnessed someone else being bullied or harassed on site, please contact the nearest staff member either from the festival or from the venue. If you witness a staff member bullying or harassing someone, please speak to the Festival Producer as soon as possible providing detailed information and your contact information.

Visitors and customers who feel that they have been subject to harassment or discrimination when visiting or carrying out work for Manchester Animation Festival will be directed to the Festival Producer who will investigate their complaint and take the necessary relevant action. At all times, the complainant will be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and the action taken.