Bullying and Harassment (Staff) Policy

Adopted 17th June 2019
Next review date: August 2026 (Reviewed triennially thereafter) 

Policy Statement
At KingsGate School, we are committed to treating all people with dignity and respect. KingsGate School firmly believes in the right of all people to work in an environment that is harmonious and free from unlawful discrimination or harassment, bullying and victimisation, collectively known as "Unacceptable Conduct".

Purpose
This policy guides employees on how to identify, report, and help prevent unacceptable conduct at KingsGate School.

Bullying and Harassment
Bullying/harassment is any repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards a person or group of people that creates a risk to their mental or physical health and safety.
"Unreasonable behaviour" means behaviour that a reasonable person, considering all the circumstances, would expect to victimise, humiliate, undermine or threaten.
"Behaviour" includes the actions of individuals or groups and may involve using a system of work as a means of victimising, humiliating, undermining, or threatening. Some examples of behaviour that may constitute bullying are:
▶Continually making jokes or remarks about a person, or making more remarks about one team member than other team member
▶Verbal abuse, swearing or name-calling.
▶Excluding or isolating employees.
▶Intimidation
▶Assigning meaningless tasks unrelated to a person's job.
▶Deliberately changing work rosters to inconvenience particular employees.
▶Deliberately withholding information that is vital for effective work performance.
Overt bullying/harassment can include:
▶Threats and intimidation
▶Manipulation and coercion
▶Verbally abusive or degrading language or gestures
▶Shouting, yelling, using a raised voice and an unpleasant tone
▶Unexplained displays of rage
▶Nitpicking and fault-finding without justification
▶Constant humiliation
▶Belittling remarks either to the recipient or behind their back
▶Unjustified threats of dismissal or other disciplinary procedures
▶Punishment imposed without reasonable justification.
Covert bullying/harassment can include acts such as:
▶Deliberately overloading someone with work and imposing impossible deadlines.
▶Sabotaging someone’s work by withholding information that is required to fulfil tasks.
▶Hiding documents or equipment.
▶Constantly changing targets or work guidelines.
▶Preventing someone from receiving necessary resources and training.
▶Isolating or ignoring an employee consistently.  
▶Changes in the duties or responsibilities of an employee’s job description to their detriment, without reasonable justification.

On the other hand, bullying/harassment is not:
▶Free and frank discussion about issues or concerns in the workplace, without personal insults.
▶Legitimate criticisms made to employees about their behaviour or work performance (not expressed in a hostile, harassing manner).
▶Issuing of reasonable instructions in line with delegated authority and expecting them to be carried out
▶Warning or disciplining an employee in line with NZSTA policy.
▶Insisting on satisfactory performance standards regarding quality, safety and team cooperation.
▶Giving negative feedback, including in a performance appraisal, requires justified performance improvement.
▶Occasional differences of opinion, non-aggressive conflicts, and problems in working relations.
▶Allocation of work in accordance with NZSTA systems.
▶Workplace counselling, constructive feedback, managing under-performance and other disciplinary action in accordance with NZSTA policies and processes.