A concern was raised regarding comments and actions by one employee about another, which the complainant believed had racist undertones. The matter was investigated by Mustard HR, who took a careful approach in this highly sensitive situation. It transpired that others in what was a very small team had witnessed similar conduct by the same employee, however it was more subtle and not overtly racist in-front of the employee it was about.
As this was not directed at the other employees, the general consensus was that they did not feel they were in the position to raise a complaint.
The employee the conduct was about had suspicions that the (unwanted) behaviour towards them may have been racially motivated but had not witnessed the same comments and actions as their colleagues and therefore had not complained about it.
The investigation found that the conduct was racially motivated and had caused an offensive and hostile environment, therefore there was a misconduct case to answer on the basis of race discrimination. It was recommended that formal disciplinary action should be instigated against the perpetrator.
A more positive outcome was that further recommendations were actioned, including measures to tackle the workplace culture – specifically, attitudes towards diversity and inclusion. Channels for speaking out to ensure everyone had a voice to raise any such concerns in future were also put in place.
Footnote: Employees don’t need to share the protected characteristic to complain of harassment.
Under the Equality Act 2010, employees are entitled to complain of behaviour that they find offensive because of their association with a person with a protected characteristic or because they are perceived to have a protected characteristic, regardless of whether the perception is correct. Harassment can also apply to an employee who witnesses harassment because of a protected characteristic which has a negative impact on their dignity at work/working environment, irrespective of whether they share the protected characteristic of the employee being harassed.