Not in my back yard.
Q. We’ve had a situation in the studio where one of my senior designers got frustrated because one of his team hadn’t completed some work within a deadline. From what I’ve been told, the senior designer lost his temper and ranted. He may have sworn a bit as well. I know it’s not an ideal way to work, but we’re all pretty laid back here and I can’t believe that the junior designer wants to make a big deal out of it!
A. This is a topic that arises time and time again. I have discussed it before, but there are certain developments in case law that merit revisiting the subject.
Firstly, I’d be interested to know what you mean by “a big deal”. Has a grievance been brought about the incident. Assuming that you are sure about the facts – let’s take it that you’ve made a proper investigation – it does sound as if the junior designer has reason to complain. On the basis of the bare facts, the junior designer may have felt intimidated and was certainly publicly humiliated in front of his peers.
Whilst there is no formal definition of bullying, there are certain characteristics that have determined its recognition in the past. These are typically related to intimidation and abuse of power. Although there is no direct legislation related to bullying and harassment, it is acknowledged that a claim of constructive dismissal might be brought if there is a failure to deal with such instances properly. Legislation concerning discrimination may also come into play and a successful claim in this instance could be extremely costly to the company.
There are two main issues you need to focus on. If an official grievance has been brought, you need to follow your company’s grievance procedure, or if you don’t have one, you should follow ACAS guidelines. Certainly, you need to do something and not brush it under the carpet as just one of those things that happens in a creative industry.
You also need to show support to both sides. Whilst the person who feels that they’ve been badly treated or bullied is an obvious target for sympathy and help, you should also consider the situation of the senior designer. They have been put in a position where they need to manage a team, but have they received any training in doing so? Have they received any training in the responsibilities of managing people? Are they aware of the expectations of their role and, indeed, the legal responsibilities that they hold?
This is not a situation that you can sweep under the carpet or ignore. Such behaviour in creative environments may be common, but it doesn’t make them right or acceptable. There are a number of recent cases where vast sums of money have been awarded to victims of bullying – could your company afford to lose up to £900,000? That may have been an extreme case, but it did set the precedent that the use of bad language is unacceptable even if it is common place in that particular company and also used by the claimant.
Be aware of your responsibilities and make sure you have adequate policies and training regarding bullying. You will find the website: www.bullyonline.org a real help. To quote it directly: “the motivation is twofold: to provide an atmosphere in which employees can fulfil the duties and obligations of their contract free from harassment, discrimination, victimisation and scapegoating, and to comply with UK and European law, specifically, the Sex Discrimination Act (1975), the Race Relations Act (1976), and the Disability Discrimination Act (1996).”
October 2005
FX Magazine