Anti-harassment policy template
Harassment policies are read once, by someone who is upset and looking for a name to contact. Write for that reader and everything else follows.
Written to be read by someone who is upset and looking for a name to contact. Keep it short, keep the contacts at the top, and keep the examples concrete.
HARASSMENT AND BULLYING POLICY — [Company name]
Effective [date] · Owner: [HR lead] · Contacts: [two named people]
1. THE STANDARD
Nobody here should be made to feel humiliated, intimidated or unsafe at work.
That applies whoever is doing it, however senior, and whether or not it was
meant that way.
2. WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Harassment is unwanted behaviour aimed at a person, often connected to who
they are. Bullying is repeated behaviour that undermines or humiliates.
Examples, not a complete list:
· comments or jokes about someone's race, religion, gender, age,
disability, caste, marital status or sexuality
· unwanted touching, or standing too close after being asked not to
· sexual comments, images, or persistent invitations after a no
· shouting, insults, or humiliating someone in front of others
· spreading rumours, or cutting someone out of work they need
· threats about someone's job, shift or pay used to pressure them
Intent is not the test. The effect on the person is.
3. WHERE IT APPLIES
The office, client sites, travel, work events, and every channel we work in:
chat, email, calls and shared documents. An out-of-hours work dinner is work.
4. IF IT HAPPENS TO YOU
You can ask the person to stop, if you feel able. You do not have to.
You can go straight to [contact one] or [contact two]. Write down what
happened and when, while it is fresh.
5. IF YOU SEE IT
Say something at the time if it is safe, and report it. Waiting for the
person affected to act puts the burden in the wrong place.
6. WHAT WE DO WITH A REPORT
· Acknowledged within [2] working days by the person you told.
· You are asked what you want to happen, and heard on it.
· The matter is looked into by someone not involved in it.
· The person reported is told what has been said and gets to answer.
· You are told the outcome, in writing.
Findings are dealt with under [the disciplinary procedure], up to dismissal.
7. NO RETALIATION
Reporting in good faith, or taking part in an investigation, is protected.
Anyone who retaliates is dealt with as a conduct matter in itself.
8. SUPPORT
[Name what you offer: time off, a change of reporting line during the
process, counselling if you provide it.]
Approved by [name, title], [date].Before you send it
- Name two contacts, with their real names, at the top. A policy that says contact HR fails in a team where HR is one person and that person is involved.
- Keep the examples specific and local. The behaviours people actually report vary a lot between workplaces, and a generic list gets read as someone else's problem.
- Local law sets what counts as unlawful harassment, what training is expected, and what an employer must do after a report. Those rules differ widely. This template is a starting structure, not a statement of your duties. Get it reviewed properly.
- Say what support exists before anyone needs it. An empty clause 8 is worse than none, so either fill it or cut it.
- PeopleMuster publishes each policy with a category and a slug, and indexes it so HashBot, the policy assistant, can answer questions from it. People are pointed back to the published text for anything important, which is the right stance for a document like this one.
Questions people ask about this letter
Does intent matter?
Not for whether the behaviour lands badly. It can matter for what happens next, which is why a policy separates the standard from the response to a breach.
Should the policy list examples?
Yes. Abstract wording lets people decide their own behaviour is not covered. Examples remove that room, as long as the list is clearly not exhaustive.
What if the report is about a founder?
Write the answer down now, in the policy. An external adviser, a board member, or a named third party. A route that visibly stops below the top is not a route.