Employment rights and responsibilities: being a team player that challenges directly and supports personally (2 of 2) – How to respond to rights not being met

What to do when your rights are not met?

It is one thing to know your rights, and this is central to your responsibilities as an individual, but what can you do when your rights are not being met?

First of all, there is professional support for you as suggested previous through Citizen’s Advice and ACAS amongst other recognised organisations.

Before it gets to this stage though, it is about being an effective part of a team and feeling empowered to stand up for what you believe in. This is about speaking up when things don’t feel right.

Your manager/leader/boss as a huge responsibility here to promote psychological safety and you should be mindful of this when seeking employment.

From the above image it seems that radical candour is the aim, but what does it look like in practice? Check out the video below to learn more.

Equipped with this information and new skills, make sure you are able to speak up and be radically candid when your rights are not being met or when others are not meeting their responsibilities. You need to put being radically candid into practice, today.

Workplace confidentiality and cyber security

Workplace cyber security has become a top priority for organisations worldwide in today’s increasingly digital world.

With the rise in sophisticated cyber threats and hacking incidents, protecting sensitive data and maintaining the integrity of business operations has become more challenging than ever.

Cyber security protects networks, computer systems, and data from unauthorised access, use, or destruction. Workplace cyber security involves safeguarding intellectual property, confidential information, and customer data from cyber threats.

With the rise of cyber attacks and data breaches, organisations and individuals must stay vigilant and proactive in protecting sensitive information. Cyber attacks can result in severe financial losses for businesses.

From the theft of funds to the cost of investigating and addressing security breaches, the financial impact of cyber threats can be substantial. Furthermore, businesses may face legal penalties or regulatory fines for failing to protect sensitive information adequately. A data breach or security incident can impact a company’s reputation and erode customer trust.

What can employees do specifically;

• Passwords; use complex and unique passwords, and if available, multi-factor authentication.
• Software updates; Keeping software systems up to date is essential to protect against known vulnerabilities.
• Human factors; individual vigilance and scepticism on emails from externals, clicking on links and which websites are visited.

Bullying, harassment & discrimination in the workplace

Everyone should be treated fairly and with respect at work. It is unlawful to treat someone differently for a reason unconnected to the job, for example because of their gender or nationality. No one should be made to feel humiliated or offended by the behaviour of another employee. This session looks at discrimination and harassment in the workplace and how problems relating to discrimination and harassment can be avoided or resolved.

There is no specific offence of “bullying” because it would be very difficult to define in law, and overlaps with other protections. Current legislation, for example;             

• Provides safeguards for employees on the grounds of e.g. sex, race, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation and age.
• Makes intentional harassment a criminal offence.
• Places a duty on employers to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Fair Treatment at Work Survey 2008 provided some evidence on the extent of bullying in the workplace. It found that:

• Around a third of respondents had encountered a problem at work covering mainly problems with employment rights (29%), unfair treatment (13%), discrimination (7%) or bullying/ harassment (7%). Women were slightly more likely to report being bullied than men.
• Taking into account a respondent’s workplace, job and personal characteristics, women were 73% more likely to experience bullying than men, those with long-standing illness or disability were twice as likely to experience bullying and gay/lesbian or bisexual respondents were almost four times as likely to experience bullying.
• Most bullying at work was carried out by an employer, supervisor or senior manager

Discrimination means treating different people in different ways. At work, unlawful discrimination is when someone is treated worse than others for a reason that has got nothing to do with the job. Reasons why you can’t be discriminated against include:

• gender or gender reassignment
• sexual orientation
• marriage or civil partnership
• disability
• race
• colour
• ethnic background
• nationality
• religion or belief
• age

Direct discrimination is when someone is deliberately treated worse for one or more of these reasons. A man applies for a job as a secretary, but he doesn’t get it because the employer thinks only women should be secretaries. That’s direct discrimination on the basis of gender.

Indirect discrimination is when a working condition or rule puts one group of people at a disadvantage for one or more of these reasons. Shop assistants, who wear turbans for religious reasons, lose their job because the company’s dress code doesn’t allow hats or headscarves. That’s indirect discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.

Positive action is where an employer gives support to a particular group of people. An employer might encourage someone with a disability to apply for a job. But the employer must still appoint the best person for the job, whether or not they have a disability.

A genuine occupational requirement means that a job has to be done by a particular person for a specific reason. It’s a genuine occupational requirement that a black actor is employed to play the role of a black character in a film.

Harassment is any unwanted behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated, humiliated or offended. It can happen through e-mails and phone calls as well as in face-to-face situations. Harassment might not be obvious to anyone else. If employees feel that they are being harassed or discriminated against, they don’t have to put up with it. They should talk to their manager or the company’s human resource (HR) department and be clear about what has happened. An employee shouldn’t get into trouble for complaining about discrimination or harassment.

Answer

This is direct discrimination on the basis of gender.

Bullying at work is when one employee tries to intimidate another employee. It’s usually done to someone in a less senior position. Bullying isn’t just face-to-face. It can also happen over the phone, by e-mail or by fax. Examples of bullying behaviour include:

• blaming someone for problems caused by other people
• treating someone unfairly
• picking on someone
• regularly threatening to sack someone
• not giving someone training opportunities
• spreading rumours about someone
• giving someone too much work to do

If you’re being bullied at work, talk it over with someone as soon as possible. Speak to your manager or supervisor, or to someone in your company’s human resources (HR) department. You can also talk to a representative, like a trade union official. It’s a good idea to keep a diary of incidents. Write down details of where and when the bullying occurred, and what happened. Bullying isn’t always deliberate. The bully might not realise what effect their behaviour is having on you. If possible, talk to the person directly. Describe what has been happening and explain why it is a problem. Stay calm and be polite. If this doesn’t solve the problem and the bullying continues, the next step is to make a formal complaint. Your company will have a grievance policy explaining how to do this.

Trade unions and professional organisations

Trade unions represent workers’ interests, protect employees’ rights, and fight against unfair changes in the balance between employee and employer’s rights and responsibilities. You can choose to become a member of a trade union. Each union charges a monthly membership fee. When things go wrong in the workplace, trade unions talk to employers on the employees’ behalf. Trade unions may suggest industrial action if the problem cannot be fixed in these talks.

Advantages;

• Trade unions aim to protect workers. As a member, you can seek advice and support from trade union representatives or from the local trade union office.
• They are experienced in negotiating with employers, and have a good knowledge of workplace laws. They can also offer you legal protection.

Disadvantages;

• Trade unions take industrial action based on the votes of their members.
• You may disagree with the outcome of a vote, but feel pressured to be involved in the action. If you go on strike you will lose some of your pay, and experience the stress and pressure of having less money.
• The company will expect that you catch up on your work when you come back after a strike.

Industrial action comes in different forms, some more severe than others.

• ‘Go slow’ – This is when workers slow down the speed of their work. This causes orders to be filled late, customers to become angry, and the employer to lose money.
• Working to rule – This is when employees only carry out the tasks that are outlined in their contract. So many jobs must be done in a company that the contract cannot cover them all. A ‘working to rule’ action may cause disturbance to the smooth running of the company and affect profits.
• Short strike – A strike is when workers refuse to work. A short strike lasts less than a day.
• All-out strike – An all-out strike is a serious industrial action, and is used as a last resort when an employer will not make the changes that their employees most want to see. Workers on an all-out strike form a ‘picket line’ outside their place of work. This is a protest that draws attention to the workers’ problems with their employer. Strikes damage employers’ profits, future orders and reputations.

The decision to go on strike is not an easy one to make. Employees and their trade unions have to consider the costs. Employees do not get paid during a strike. This can have a serious impact on their families, causing stress and financial problems. Striking workers are not entitled to government benefits during a strike. The trade union may use some of the membership fees to give them a small amount of money.

GIST – Good ideas for starting things…

1. Be radically candid in a small way first. The next time you see someone had food on their face, or something is clearly out of place, tell them. Tell them with care, quietly and directly. I am sure they will thank you (just like you would thank them).
2. Take responsibility. We often demand a lot from others – but we should demand the best for ourselves too, and that means doing our best work.
3. Be meticulous in your documentation. Save a copy of your contract, and key communications with your manager / colleagues on what you have done well or not well, within your personal records. If you are going through a disciplinary process, or feel that one is forthcoming, take notes of your days and conversations that you had. You will be so glad that you did. 

Want to learn more?

• Learn more about Bullying or harassment in the workplace from this government site.
• Access the National bullying helpline if you need support with this.
• Read Kim Scott’s Radical Candour