Avoid employee tribunals with prevention.
An operative approaches you and claims colleagues have been making racist comments. What do you do?
The most important thing is that the site manager should treat the complaint seriously and not ignore it. Harassment is a form of discrimination. There is always a danger that people will say: “Oh, it’s just site banter. We call him shorty; we call him fatty... it’s just lads having a go at each other.” I don’t think a tribunal would see it that way. If your company has a racial harassment policy, then make sure you are familiar with it. Most of all, make sure that you follow it closely. Most harassment policies usually require you to resolve the complaint formally or informally. If this is the first time an issue of this type has been raised, a simple word with the perpetrator may suffice. And that could be the end of the matter. But continued harassment of an individual may mean a full investigation. Liability
Irrespective of whether your particular company has a policy, both you and your employer can be held liable for not dealing with the complaint properly. However, if your company can demonstrate at a tribunal hearing that it took reasonable steps to deal with the complaint - by having a policy and following it closely and ensuring that you, as the manager, had received training in the matter - then you could find yourself solely liable. Therefore it really is much better to take preventative steps rather than having to deal with the issue when it arises. Construction firms should make it clear that harassment and bullying will not be tolerated, maybe with signage. People should know who they can go to for help and there should be a set practice for dealing with any complaints. Training is an option. Possibly even for site managers and foremen or across the board if that is possible. It doesn’t have to take up too much time, half a day or less. All this can be set down in a written policy that is communicated clearly to all staff but is also followed when incidents occur. Getting advice
If you need advice on how to put together a racial harassment policy, there is a confidential helpline called Equality Direct (0845 6003444; www.equalitydirect.org.uk), which has been set up to help small businesses. Or you could use the Respect for People toolkit which has been put together as part of the Rethinking Construction initiative with the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the CITB (www.rethinkingconstruction.org.uk). Workplace issues
It is difficult to measure how much of a problem racial harassment in the workplace is. In many cases you will not hear that it is going on. Some people just try to ignore racial harassment and keep their head down until they feel they have just had enough and go elsewhere - another site, another job, another career.First I would make a record of the complaint. Then I would investigate. I would speak to the person making the complaint and any other individuals involved, with the aim of identifying the history and the validity of the complaint. If we did decide at this point that the claim was serious, and in need of pursuing further, we may contact our industrial relations department at head office, in order to get some advice. (Laing has had an industrial and employee relations department for as far back as the early 1970s). In some cases, of course, it might be appropriate to hand over the handling of the case to this department directly. Clear guidelines
If the complaint were substantiated, I would address the issue with the party who were making the racist remarks, inviting them to my office for a meeting. Anyone working on my site knows from day one that racial and sexual abuse or harassment is not tolerated because this is stated unequivocally at the site induction and everyone present on the site is required to sign a form to say that they understand that. This is a procedure we have employed to the letter on the last eight or nine construction jobs undertaken. We simply will not put up with that sort of behaviour. In some cases, it may be necessary to suspend the individual accused on full pay, while we get to the bottom of what has happened. The difficulty with this sort of issue is getting the evidence together. Only then will it be clear as to what sort of case you are dealing with. If proven, we would take appropriate disciplinary action against the offender. Depending on the severity of the abuse, this may range from requiring that there is an apology to a formal warning or, in some cases, dismissal. If the offender was not directly employed, we would take the matter up with the employer and work it through together. In this case it may also be necessary to remove the individual under accusation from site during the course of the official investigations. The employer would take their own disciplinary measures, although we would expect them to be in accordance with what our policies say. We vet our subcontractors very carefully and we are extremely careful about who we work with. Before engaging third parties we would want to ensure a racial and sexual anti-discrimination policy to be in place.The first piece of advice I would give to a project manager is to make sure you know what your firm’s equal opportunities procedures are. Equally, be aware of the policies of any subcontractors you employ. In August last year I represented our member Najjif Shah and won damages against subcontractor WPB. The tribunal did not find the main contractor, Skanska, guilty, but did uphold Shah’s complaint that Skanska had not appeared to operate its own racial policy properly and effectively. Ask up front
Unfortunately, only public works contracts require that all firms employed on the job have an equal opportunities policy, although some main contractors may claim that this is one of their requirements. In reality, though, they don’t exist in any contract, public or private. My advice to a project manager is to audit the subcontractors. If they have ticked the box that says they have an equal opportunities policy, ask them for it. If they can’t produce it, then give them a timeframe in which to provide it. If an operative comes to you with complaints about racial discrimination or harassment, the best course of action could be to bring in the person responsible for equal opportunities in your company. That might be the human resources manager, an industrial relations manager or perhaps the company secretary. If this isn’t possible, go to the most senior person (which may be you). The system your company operates should mean that those accused of racial abuse are interviewed quickly. If you (or the person dealing with it) thinks that there is a substantial issue, a range of options should be considered, including suspension on full pay while the matter is investigated more fully. If the people involved work for a subcontractor, you should go to the most senior person on site and ask them to deal with it in accordance with their policy (which hopefully you will have seen). If those people are unwilling or unable to act, go to the next most senior person in the firm, which may be the owner in some cases. Most main contractors would not normally get directly involved in dealing with a situation which had happened with a subcontractor, because each main contractor would have to consider their liabilities. It’s a poor way of looking at things, but, sadly, that’s reality in the business world. Employment practices
Employment practices within the industry are often an area for confusion. Project managers need to be fully aware that the times are changing. The Scottish Parliament now insists on proper employment practices with all of their contracts, and a recent survey of local authorities indicated that over 70% would support a similar move. Clearly this is now a matter where construction managers need to take a proper and full account of what is happening on their contract.
It’s Not banter
Irrespective of whether your particular company has a policy, both you and your employer can be held liable for not dealing with the complaint properly. However, if your company can demonstrate at a tribunal hearing that it took reasonable steps to deal with the complaint - by having a policy and following it closely and ensuring that you, as the manager, had received training in the matter - then you could find yourself solely liable. Therefore it really is much better to take preventative steps rather than having to deal with the issue when it arises. Construction firms should make it clear that harassment and bullying will not be tolerated, maybe with signage. People should know who they can go to for help and there should be a set practice for dealing with any complaints. Training is an option. Possibly even for site managers and foremen or across the board if that is possible. It doesn’t have to take up too much time, half a day or less. All this can be set down in a written policy that is communicated clearly to all staff but is also followed when incidents occur. Getting advice
If you need advice on how to put together a racial harassment policy, there is a confidential helpline called Equality Direct (0845 6003444; www.equalitydirect.org.uk), which has been set up to help small businesses. Or you could use the Respect for People toolkit which has been put together as part of the Rethinking Construction initiative with the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the CITB (www.rethinkingconstruction.org.uk). Workplace issues
It is difficult to measure how much of a problem racial harassment in the workplace is. In many cases you will not hear that it is going on. Some people just try to ignore racial harassment and keep their head down until they feel they have just had enough and go elsewhere - another site, another job, another career.
Follow the rules
If the complaint were substantiated, I would address the issue with the party who were making the racist remarks, inviting them to my office for a meeting. Anyone working on my site knows from day one that racial and sexual abuse or harassment is not tolerated because this is stated unequivocally at the site induction and everyone present on the site is required to sign a form to say that they understand that. This is a procedure we have employed to the letter on the last eight or nine construction jobs undertaken. We simply will not put up with that sort of behaviour. In some cases, it may be necessary to suspend the individual accused on full pay, while we get to the bottom of what has happened. The difficulty with this sort of issue is getting the evidence together. Only then will it be clear as to what sort of case you are dealing with. If proven, we would take appropriate disciplinary action against the offender. Depending on the severity of the abuse, this may range from requiring that there is an apology to a formal warning or, in some cases, dismissal. If the offender was not directly employed, we would take the matter up with the employer and work it through together. In this case it may also be necessary to remove the individual under accusation from site during the course of the official investigations. The employer would take their own disciplinary measures, although we would expect them to be in accordance with what our policies say. We vet our subcontractors very carefully and we are extremely careful about who we work with. Before engaging third parties we would want to ensure a racial and sexual anti-discrimination policy to be in place.
Audit your subbies
Unfortunately, only public works contracts require that all firms employed on the job have an equal opportunities policy, although some main contractors may claim that this is one of their requirements. In reality, though, they don’t exist in any contract, public or private. My advice to a project manager is to audit the subcontractors. If they have ticked the box that says they have an equal opportunities policy, ask them for it. If they can’t produce it, then give them a timeframe in which to provide it. If an operative comes to you with complaints about racial discrimination or harassment, the best course of action could be to bring in the person responsible for equal opportunities in your company. That might be the human resources manager, an industrial relations manager or perhaps the company secretary. If this isn’t possible, go to the most senior person (which may be you). The system your company operates should mean that those accused of racial abuse are interviewed quickly. If you (or the person dealing with it) thinks that there is a substantial issue, a range of options should be considered, including suspension on full pay while the matter is investigated more fully. If the people involved work for a subcontractor, you should go to the most senior person on site and ask them to deal with it in accordance with their policy (which hopefully you will have seen). If those people are unwilling or unable to act, go to the next most senior person in the firm, which may be the owner in some cases. Most main contractors would not normally get directly involved in dealing with a situation which had happened with a subcontractor, because each main contractor would have to consider their liabilities. It’s a poor way of looking at things, but, sadly, that’s reality in the business world. Employment practices
Employment practices within the industry are often an area for confusion. Project managers need to be fully aware that the times are changing. The Scottish Parliament now insists on proper employment practices with all of their contracts, and a recent survey of local authorities indicated that over 70% would support a similar move. Clearly this is now a matter where construction managers need to take a proper and full account of what is happening on their contract.
Source
Construction Manager
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