Grievance - Definition of harassment

2.    Definition of Harassment

ACAS defines harassment in general terms as “unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of men and women in the workplace. The key is that the actions or comments are viewed as demeaning and unacceptable to the recipient."

It is a question of whether the person feels intimidated, or the actions of others disrupt harmonious working.  Harassment could be related to race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, nationality, bullying, trade union membership or activity or any other personal characteristic, and may take the form of:

• Verbal/written crude language, offensive jokes, suggestive remarks, wolf-whistles, gossip
• Unnecessary physical contact e.g. touching another employee
• Derogatory or degrading comments
• Coercion ranging from pressure for sexual favours to pressure to participate or comply with political, religious or trade union groups etc
• Assigning inappropriate tasks/impossible deadlines

The above list is not exhaustive but illustrative.