Dignity and Respect at Work Policy 

Part of the school’s commitment to ensure a safe and friendly working environment 

1. Context  
It is a key priority for the school to ensure a welcoming, safe, inclusive, and 
supportive working environment that is free from all forms of unacceptable 
behaviour such as discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation. It is 
important that all colleagues feel a sense of belonging, and are valued, celebrated, 
and recognised for who they are and what they bring.

 
Creating this environment enables us to deliver good quality education, and it is 
important we all embrace and promote the school’s values, where treating others 
with dignity and respect is central.

2. Aim  
Everyone has a role to play in creating this environment, and the aim of the Policy is 
to ensure everyone we deal with or have contact with:  
 • is treated with dignity and respect;  
 • understands the role they play in creating a culture of equity and inclusion; and  
 • has a positive experience of the school.  

To achieve this, we must ensure that everyone:  
 • understands the importance of dignity and respect, and feels empowered to 
    challenge, resolve and/or report unacceptable behaviour when it is witnessed or 
    experienced;  
 • has the confidence that when they raise a concern, they will be listened to, and 
    appropriate and timely action will be taken, and helpful support provided; and  
 • understands the behaviours expected of them to create an inclusive, safe and 
    welcoming environment.

3. Scope  
This policy applies to the way we work and interact with our colleagues and covers all 
school staff.

It encompasses all interactions, including those that occur at a work social event, 
training events or online. 1 In relation to unacceptable behaviour from customers 
(including parents, carers and visitors), please refer to the document titled Policy on 
the Prevention and Management of Unacceptable Customer Behaviour.  

For unacceptable behaviour involving an employee of a partner school, Headteachers 
from both schools will liaise to agree the framework within which the behaviour 
should be resolved.  

4. Who can help?  
If you experience or witness unacceptable behaviour, your manager / Headteacher 
can support you in considering what the next steps might look like, the best 
approach to resolution and where requested can support that resolution. Where for 
whatever reason this is not appropriate, or you don’t feel able to raise a concern 
with your Headteacher, or you don’t feel it is being managed effectively, you can 
contact:  
 • your Chair of Governors, Chair of the Governing Board  
 • your trade union; or  
 • a colleague  

If a Headteacher would like any advice and support on how best to respond to and 
resolve unacceptable behaviour, they can contact the Schools HR Business Partnering team.  

5. Responsibilities  
Experiencing unacceptable behaviour can have a significant impact on staff. This 
impact can increase if left unresolved or allowed to continue(1).  

The school wants to ensure that all staff know that unacceptable behaviour will 
always be addressed and that there are many options available for staff to resolve, 
raise or report concerns. To help achieve this the following one-page documents have 
been created:  
 • Informal Steps if you experience or witness unacceptable behaviour  
 • Reflecting on Unacceptable Behaviour  
 • Providing Feedback on Unacceptable Behaviour  
 • Ways to Report Unacceptable Behaviour  

We are all responsible for ensuring that the way we act and interact with colleagues 
creates a positive, inclusive, and thriving work environment. Our responsibilities are 
as follows:

 a) All staff  
It is essential that we:  
 • treat all colleagues with dignity, respect, consideration, fairness, and hold 
    ourselves and each other to account when we fall short of this;  
 • ensure all colleagues can be themselves and feel included;  
 • be sensitive, aware and considerate to the impact our attitude, words and actions 
    can have on others and how they make people feel;  
 • speak up, report and support our colleagues if we see unacceptable behaviour. This 
    is important as it:  
     o demonstrates to the recipient that others do not agree and are not comfortable 
         with the behaviour;  
     o prevents exclusionary behaviour embedding, reoccurring and/or becoming the 
         norm; and  
     o provides the opportunity for reflection, learning and a change in behaviour.  
 • declare a personal relationship to a manager / Headteacher as there may be 
    potential to be a conflict of interest i.e. in recruitment, in direct line management, in 
    decision making in the school and in personal relationships.  
 • seek, welcome, respect, value and listen to views and opinions that are different to 
    our own;  
 • listen, reflect, and respond to feedback about our behaviour, and continually 
    challenge our own perceptions and assumptions; and  
 • become familiar with and work in alignment with school values.

 b) Headteacher  
It is essential that Headteachers do all they can, to prevent unacceptable behaviour 
occurring. There is more information for Headteachers on preventing unacceptable 
behaviour on WSSfE within the discipline, grievance and whistleblowing policies, and 
the West Sussex County Council (WSCC) Standards of Conduct.

In addition to the above, Headteachers should:  
 • adopt inclusive leadership practices and create psychological safety which can be 
    achieved by working in alignment with the schools values. This would include for 
    example:  
      o leading by example and role modelling positive behaviours;  
      o collaboratively developing, agreeing and continuously reviewing a team charter 
          that covers behavioural expectations and how the team will hold each other to 
          account if these are not met.  
      o make it clear that unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated, and how 
          important it is to treat colleagues with dignity and respect.  
      o have difficult conversations privately and in a respectful way.  
      o create a supportive environment, where staff are invited to candidly share 
          their thoughts and ideas.  
 • operate in a fair and consistent way, providing equity in opportunities for all staff; 
 • be alert to unacceptable behaviour and act promptly to tackle and resolve, 
    irrespective of whether the behaviour has been observed personally or whether a 
    concern has been raised.  
 • treat all concerns raised seriously, sensitively and confidentially, giving all parties 
    full support during the process;  
 • investigate and respond to all allegations of unacceptable behaviour;  
 • record any incidents of unacceptable behaviour and any action or investigations.  
 • Headteachers should take all reasonable steps to address and avoid actual and 
    perceived conflicts of interest. Further information on conflicts of interest can be 
    found in the Guidance on Propriety and Official Conduct.   

6. What behaviours are unacceptable?  
Alongside our responsibilities, there are certain behaviours that are unacceptable 
and will not be tolerated. These can occur in person and/or online and include:  

a) Discrimination  
Discrimination occurs where one person (or a group of people) is treated unfairly 
compared to another person or group because of their protected characteristic2 and 
there is no legal justification. For more information, please see the document ‘types 
of discrimination and examples’. 
This includes but is not limited to all forms of racism, ableism, sexism, ageism, 
transphobia and homophobia, and could take the form of microaggressions.  

b) Harassment  
Harassment (under the Equality Act) is unwanted conduct related to protected 
characteristics that:  
 a) violates a person's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading,    
    humiliating or offensive environment for that person; or  
 b) is reasonably considered by that person to have violated their dignity or created 
    an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.  
    Other forms of repeated behaviour that cause alarm or distress to an individual or 
    group of individuals may also amount to harassment.  

Sexual Harassment  
Sexual harassment is any kind of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that makes 
a person feel humiliated or intimidated, or that creates a hostile environment.  

c) Bullying  
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, and/or an abuse 
or misuse of power that is meant to undermine, humiliate or injure the person on the 
receiving end.

Behaviour may amount to bullying even if it was not intended to cause distress or 
harm. Bullying and harassment may be single or repeated incidents and can range 
from extreme forms of intimidating behaviour, such as physical violence, to more 
subtle forms such as ignoring someone. They can and often do occur without 
witnesses.  
It is important to separate bullying or harassment from the right of the employer to 
allocate work, provide feedback, support, encourage and manage performance. These 
are valid management actions which should always be performed in a reasonable, fair, 
and respectful way.  

For further information about harassment and bullying please see the Bullying and 
Harassment Guidance (Schools), available on the WSSfE page titled 
Raising/Addressing a Grievance and/or Concerns.  

d) Victimisation  
Victimisation occurs when an employee is treated badly because they have made or 
supported a complaint, raised a grievance about unacceptable behaviour or 
discrimination or because they are suspected of doing so.  
An employee will however be held to account if they have maliciously made or 
supported an untrue complaint.  

7. Resolving Concerns  
a) Overview  
Headteachers will listen empathetically to all concerns raised and they will always be 
taken seriously. Timely action will be taken to address issues, and tailored support 
will be provided.

Headteachers will resolve problems in a way that, as far as possible, maintains a 
positive and supportive working environment. Matters will be addressed swiftly, 
clearly, and sensitively, respecting the rights of both the person raising the concern 
and the person who has had a concern raised against them.  

All concerns whether informal or formal will be treated confidentially and fairly.

b) Informal resolution  

It is often possible to resolve matters informally to the full satisfaction of all 
parties involved.  

Resolving unacceptable behaviour informally does not make it less important, but it is 
often the quickest, most effective, and most constructive method for resolution.  

It is important to recognise that sometimes people make genuine mistakes or might 
not be aware that their behaviour is unwelcome or offensive. Letting the person 
know their behaviour is unwelcome or offensive, either directly or with the help of a 
third party will give them the opportunity to reflect, learn, apologise and to stop.  

For more information on informal steps that can be taken please refer to:  
• Informal Steps if you Experience or Witness Unacceptable Behaviour;  
• Reflecting on Unacceptable Behaviour  
• Providing Feedback on Unacceptable Behaviour  

c) Formal resolution  

If the informal approach fails to resolve the matter, or the situation is so serious it 
warrants formal action, a concern can be raised using the Grievance Policy and 
Procedure.  

You are advised to speak to the Headteacher (or Chair of Governing Body if about 
the Headteacher) about raising a concern formally.  

You may also wish to consider speaking to a trade union representative (if a member) 
for support and advice.  

For more information, please refer to Ways to Report Unacceptable Behaviour.  

Action may also be taken under the WSCC Disciplinary Policy and Procedure or the 
WSCC Performance Improvement Policy where judged appropriate  

8. Available Support  
Experiencing unacceptable behaviour can have a devastating effect as it can cause 
fear, stress, anxiety, and a range of other physiological and psychological health 
issues.  
It can also be a difficult time for the individual the complaint is about.  
Below are examples of the types of support available.  

1) If the behaviour is prolonged or repeated, it can be helpful to keep notes of what was said, 
the date and time, names of participants and anyone else who may have seen or heard what 
happened. Please report it, as important the behaviour is addressed. 
2) The protected characteristics are age; race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or 
national origins); disability; sex; sexual orientation; gender identity/re-assignment; religion & 
belief; pregnancy and maternity; and marital/civil partnership status.

 
9. Document History  

Reviewed March 26
Ratified July 26
Expires April 27