Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2013/14 - B&H

[Budfrog]

Using the keyword ‘Bullying’ a search of this document has found 10 results in the following sentences/paragraphs:

Environment Policy
Sets out our commitment to environmental management. Other relevant support includes the Royal Mail. Code of Business Standards and the Equality & Fairness; Bullying & Harassment; Anti-Bribery policies and Associated Employee Training.

Stakeholder Unions – Progress 13/14
Overhaul of bullying and harassment procedure to focus on informal resolution and mediation where possible.

Employee Engagement
Each year we develop a Corporate Action Plan (CAP) to target key issues raised through the survey. Actions and progress are reviewed by our Employee Panel, made up of people from across the business, including union representatives. In 2013-14 we focused on communicating our strategy and the future of the business; addressing concerns around bullying and harassment; and improving ways to make people feel valued and recognised.

Ensuring dignity and respect
We are committed to creating and maintaining a working environment that is free from bullying and harassment, and where we treat each other with dignity and respect. This is key to driving employee engagement.

During 2013-14: We worked closely with our unions to develop a joint statement on bullying and harassment and in February 2014, distributed the new booklet to all employees. It defines what constitutes unacceptable behaviour and gives practical advice on how to resolve situations. Since our revised policy and procedure were first published in July 2013, we have been able to increase the number of cases that are resolved informally.

We held focus groups with employees at all levels, to understand the experience of bullying and harassment at Royal Mail.

With increased awareness, we have seen the number of bullying and harassment complaints increase. The majority of complaints relate to value and respect at work and inappropriate banter. We continue to take bullying and harassment seriously. Conduct action was taken in 74 per cent of cases in 2013-14, compared with 69 per cent the previous year.

Breaches of the Code of Conduct
In 2013-14, 2,695 breaches to the Code of Conduct were recorded. Breaches include relatively minor incidents such as a failure to follow workplace practices, through to bullying and harassment and theft of mail.

Our Priorities for 2014-2015
Launch a new bullying and harassment awareness campaign.

[dvbuk55]

Will you be told there is no bullying or harassment we have heard it recently from the horses mouth, it's never reported and there is no need to take any action by the union

[Lincox]

Perhaps Dingo can tell us how many of those breaches (2695 of them) were management on workers as against worker on worker.

[rubberbond]

They are also supposed to act on the employee survey results. Still waiting for the previous two years. But then again they think everything' is going fine.

[dvbuk55]

Perhaps Dingo can tell us how many of those breaches (2695 of them) were management on workers as against worker on worker.

If it's not that prevalent Lincox why is it a priority to institute a new campaign? Someone is speaking with a forked tongue methinks.

[dvbuk55]

They are also supposed to act on the employee survey results. Still waiting for the previous two years. But then again they think everything' is going fine.

Are we sure they think everything is going fine rather than saying everything is going fine in the hope everyone else thinks things are fine.

[rubberbond]

They are also supposed to act on the employee survey results. Still waiting for the previous two years. But then again they think everything' is going fine.

Are we sure they think everything is going fine rather than saying everything is going fine in the hope everyone else thinks things are fine.

Good point ,well made. Tell a lie often enough and people will believe it to be true.

[Lincox]

Perhaps Dingo can tell us how many of those breaches (2695 of them) were management on workers as against worker on worker.

If it's not that prevalent Lincox why is it a priority to institute a new campaign? Someone is speaking with a forked tongue methinks.

They know it,s going on DVB, but I think they have got so many cases that over the last couple of years they have just hid their heads in the sand hoping it would subside, but probably now realise that if they do not get to grips with this their necks will be on the line. They can no longer hide behind a corrupt government and will now be answerable to shareholders which include the workers.

[Budfrog]

Ensuring dignity and respect
With increased awareness, we have seen the number of bullying and harassment complaints increase. We continue to take bullying and harassment seriously.

Our Priorities for 2014-2015
Launch a new bullying and harassment awareness campaign.

OK – So the number of bullying and harassment complaints has increased with increased awareness, Royal Mail takes bullying and harassment seriously and is now going to launch a new bullying and harassment awareness campaign.......all good stuff but how about some concrete measures that will see the number of complaints decline.

Ensuring dignity and respect
Conduct action was taken in 74 per cent of cases in 2013-14.

Breaches of the Code of Conduct
In 2013-14, 2,695 breaches to the Code of Conduct were recorded. Breaches include relatively minor incidents such as a failure to follow workplace practices, through to bullying and harassment and theft of mail.

How about drilling down into these Stats a little more:
1. How many of the 2,695 breaches recorded were bullying and harassment complaints?
2. Of the 74 per cent of cases where action was taken in 2013-14 what proportion were upheld.
3. What is the breakdown of the number of cases upheld – OPGvOPG, ManagervOPG, OPGvManager, ManagervManager etc. etc.
4. What sanctions were imposed upon those found guilty of bullying and harassment?
5. What proportion of casework has been successfully mediated (by internal and external mediators)?

[Jomum]

Also how many bullying and harrasment complaints were subsequently downgraded to grievances and of those grievances how many were upheld?

[Lincox]

100%
0%

[Martin Walsh]

The stats you quote are for all who went through the conduct code. We have 120 000 employees and 2695 employees went into the conduct code which is just over 2%. This includes cases such as theft , wilful delay , dishonesty and general cases. Now Bullying is including in those cases and I will attempt to find out the numbers.

There is a Bullying and Harassment focus group set up which will be going into offices and speaking to front line staff regarding their experiences. I agree one case of bullying is one too many.

[Lincox]

If it was one, Dingo ,we could all assume that this was one rogue manager. This is an epidemic and even managers that have been what we might call reasonable in the past, have changed course. This is being manipulated from above to force out long serving full time staff and no in house/joint union led enquiry will be of any use because we all know that Royal Mail do not listen to or accept any form of criticism against their managers.

[dvbuk55]

If it was one, Dingo ,we could all assume that this was one rogue manager. This is an epidemic and even managers that have been what we might call reasonable in the past, have changed course. This is being manipulated from above to force out long serving full time staff and no in house/joint union led enquiry will be of any use because we all know that Royal Mail do not listen to or accept any form of criticism against their managers.

There are a number of problems with the statistical formulation for bullying and harassment, for one thing people are reluctant to admit that they feel bullied, reluctant to make a case against a manager and I feel that there is a greater prevalence of harassment rather than bullying. You can see it every day on the shop floor and probably in most offices. The scenario follows the lapsing and the inability to complete it or even the ordinary duty that cannot be completed within time. A person will feel harassed if his judgement is continually questioned as to what his/her limit for the day is and lets face it some people just cannot cope with the new style of delivery and that causes problems. It simply isn't good enough to say that a frontline survey will be carried out because we have had those in the past which have just had lip service paid to them hence yet another initiative when what is required is a solution.

What we have is full time union bods wandering round asking if everything is OK for an hour or so and back to the canteen for tea and biscuits. One of the major problems of the union organisation is you need to have day in day out experience on the shop floor.

[Lincox]

Quote What we have is full time union bods wandering round asking if everything is OK for an hour or so and back to the canteen for tea and biscuits. One of the major problems of the union organisation is you need to have day in day out experience on the shop floor.

This probably would not work because the "Little Hitlers" would just hold back whilst they were there and revert to type as soon as the coast was clear. I really do not know what the answer is whilst we have an organisation that refuses to accept there is a problem and a union that refuses to tackle the problem.