How to Write a Harassment Policy
Protecting your business by writing a harassment policy is vital. With the policy in place you can deal with harassment claims immediately. The written policy is something all employees will have to adhere to, so with this you’ll have a legitimate reason to discharge anyone who breaks it.
Harassment in the workplace is a very serious matter. It is important that a company has a harassment policy put into place. This is for the safety of the company as well as for the safety of the employees.
- Write down the company’s stance on any form of harassment. Let it be known that it will not be tolerated. Make sure that all forms of harassment are covered in the policy and that you ensure your employees that a fast investigation will be done.
- Define harassment in the opening statement. You can do this by wording it yourself or putting the actual definition in there. Be sure to also mention the legal rights of your employees when it comes to harassment.
- Talk about what an employee can do if they feel that they have been or are being harassed. Giving them a layout of what to do in one of these situations will make it easier for them should something like this happen to them. You also need to let them know what the company will do once the subject of harassment has been brought up.
- Give the employees contact information as well as information regarding the penalties for anybody that harasses anyone else.
- Provide every employee with this policy once you have completed it. Management should get it as well. It is sometimes best to hold a meeting with everybody in attendance to further discuss harassment and ways that it can be avoided. This way, if there are any questions or concerns it can be brought up right away.