Workplace Bullying and Harassment Guidelines

Workplace Bullying and Harassment Guidelines







Applies to: All NLG team


Workplace Bullying and Harassment


1.0 Introduction

The Warehouse Group is committed to providing a safe working environment where individuals are treated with respect and dignity. The Company recognises that bullying and harassment are workplace hazards that could have serious repercussions on the health, wellbeing and performance of its employees.

Group Guidelines support The Warehouse Group’s Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy which underpins values of “Treating People Fairly and with Respect”.

Workplace bullying (WPB) and Harassment are both unacceptable behaviours and each behaviour is covered under New Zealand Laws.

Harassment is unlawful under New Zealand’s Human Rights Act, Employment Relations Act, Bill of Rights Act, and the Harassment Act.

Workplace bullying is covered under Health and Safety legislation. Employers and employees both have duties to ensure safety in the workplace.

This Group Guideline is a guide only. It is intended to provide a framework to assist team and management to deal with concerns around bullying or harassment in accordance with the Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy. There may be times when it is appropriate to do more, or less, than what is provided for in the Group Guideline or to otherwise do something differently. Managerial judgment is always required.

2.0 Guidelines

2.1 Raising a concern

Employees may access any of the channels below to raise a concern or seek assistance:
  • Report a concern to your manager, Regional Manager or another manager
  • Report it to your People Support teamAsk People Support on extension 27577, 09 215 5057 or askpeoplesupport@twgroup.co.nz
  • Contact OCP
  • Report it confidentially to Confidentialhelp@twgroup.co.nz
  • Head of Employee RelationsHead of Employee Relations

2.2 Bullying and Harassment Behaviours

Examples of these are listed in Appendix 1 of the Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy. They include a wide range of personal behaviours (direct behaviours) and task related behaviours (indirect behaviours).

2.3 Approaches for Resolution

Options available at any time, when a concern arises:



2.3.1 People Support or OCP

The contact person can be a first port of call for people with bullying or harassment issues. They can provide initial advice, clarify definitions and give guidance on the complaints procedure.

OCP acts in a similar way to workplace contact people but also supports the enquirer by providing access to skilled clinicians to provide support and guidance.

2.3.2 Self Help Approach

Self Help solutions may be appropriate when:
  • The behaviour that is unreasonable, unwelcome or offensive is in its infancy
  • It’s the first time behaviours have occurred and
  • If the complainant feels able to deal with the behaviour.
Recommended steps for approach are:
  • Approach the person who has made you feel uncomfortable (can be with a friend/support person).
  • Calmly, without defensiveness, identify the behaviour that is of concern
  • Ask for the behaviour to stop.

2.3.3 Seek Assistance (Informal Approach)

If you wish, another Manager or People Experience Partner may intervene on your behalf, without a formal complaint being made. You should approach a Manager or People Experience Partner for assistance.

When a manager or People Experience Partner becomes involved in this informal approach, they will discuss the issue with you, and use their discretion to determine what outcome is appropriate. Outcomes of an informal approach could include (but are not limited to):
  • Meeting with the person against whom an informal complaint has been made
  • Arranging a meeting between you and the person against whom an informal complaint has been made
  • A manager may use the opportunity to make a general reminder directly to the parties involved, or to all team, about what’s expected by our policy, behaviours, and the Code of Conduct
  • An informal process may involve a facilitated or mediated conversation, which could result in an agreement understood by all parties (this could be a written agreement or based on a handshake) designed to resolve concerns through dialogue without a formal complaint
  • Rolling out development training in their business area.
The purpose of using an informal approach is to facilitate a satisfactory resolution of the problem between you and the alleged bully or harasser. The objective is to discuss what the problem is and how the parties might work together effectively in the future, rather than to apportion blame. The only written record of the allegation will be agreed actions (if any) for moving forward. The aim of the informal process is to stop the behaviour and restore people to a productive working relationship.

2.3.4 Formal complaint

A person who believes that they have been subjected to bullying or harassment behaviours may raise a formal complaint at any time. This may be raised to a manager, a People Experience Partner, or via the confidential email.

Formal approach is useful when:
  • The informal approach has not resolved the problem
  • The complainant does not wish to use an informal process but does want to make a formal complaint
  • The complainant’s safety is at risk or
  • The allegations are so serious that, if substantiated, they might result in disciplinary action being taken against the alleged bully or harasser.
The Warehouse Group’s Disciplinary Policy will apply. Should a compliant regarding bullying or harassment lead to disciplinary action, natural justice requires that the person whose conduct is under investigation be provided all relevant information (this can include the identity of the complainant and nature of the
complaint).

3.0 Roles and Responsibilities

3.1 Team Members

Effective implementation of the Policy is a collective responsibility of all team. All team are required to ensure that they understand their obligations under, and demonstrate active commitment to, their obligations set out in the Policy. New team will be informed of the Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy as part of the Code of Conduct induction process via the Learning Management System (LMS) computer based training package.

Team must avoid bullying or harassment behaviours. This also requires:

  • Raising legitimate concerns about any bullying or harassment behaviours and supporting other colleagues who may be subjected to these behaviours.
  • Maintaining the confidentiality of all discussions and documentation in any instances of alleged unacceptable conduct to all possible extent.
If you see behaviour in the workplace that you think is inappropriate, or could amount to bullying or harassment, you should not ignore it. Options include:
  • Talking to the person who was on the receiving end of the behaviour, to offer support
  • Talking to the person whose behaviour was of concern, using the recommended steps for self-help approach
  • Seek assistance from a Manager or People Support.


3.2 Managers

Managers have a responsibility to understand their obligations under, and demonstrate active commitment to, their statutory duties and the duties set out in the Policy. This includes a duty to take, steps to minimise the risk of bullying and harassment, with the objective of having a culture that is free from bullying and harassment.

Even where an informal complaint is raised, the company may have a duty to investigate to ensure that the workplace is safe.

Responsibilities include:
  • Ensuring team understand the standards of behaviour expected of them
  • Setting examples and standards of behaviour that include not bullying, harassing or victimising staff
  • Treating all complaints seriously and taking prompt steps to resolve complaints in a fair and thorough manner in line with the Group values, ensuring appropriate levels of confidentiality are maintained
  • Mitigating any risk from undesirable behaviour and documenting meetings, conversations and any agreed actions
  • Taking reasonable steps to ensure the complainant is protected from reprisals, retaliation or unjustified disadvantage
  • Should a counter claim of bullying or harassment be raised, a detailed root cause investigation is recommended
  • After a matter, has been reported to you, it is recommended that you follow up and review to ensure appropriate actions have been implemented and that there hasn’t been any adverse conduct towards either party.
When a formal complaint has been raised, in some instances, it may be appropriate for an external party to be engaged to undertake an investigation. Please speak to ER in these instances, who will provide support and advice prior to engaging an external party. People Safety will receive reports of workplace hazards.

3.3 Human Resources:

People Support may receive reports of bullying or harassment (directly, via a manager, the People Support Team, Employee Relations team).

People Support will provide guidance to managers in ensuring a safe workplace for team. This will include providing guidance to managers to:

  • Conduct any disciplinary investigations that arise out of allegations of bullying or harassment
  • Develop leadership capability to deal with allegations of bullying or harassment.


3.4 Workplace Contact People: - Designated people in the business to contact if you feel harassed

Workplace Contact People are anyone in Health and Safety or a People Support and they will:
  • Be empathetic and neutral to all parties
  • Provide information about The Warehouse Group complaints procedure to enquirers
  • Assist the complainant with techniques that empower the person to approach the alleged bully or harasser if it is safe to do so
  • Assist a complainant to organise a written statement of complaint as follows (taking care not to be their advocate):
            - Naming behaviours they have experienced that may be considered to be workplace bullying or harassment
            - Providing specific details of what has happened – when did it happen, who said what, how long has it been happening etc.
            - Describing how it has affected them
            - Indicating what they want for this to be resolved.


4.0 Definitions – This needs to be at the beginning of the document 

Workplace Bullying: is any repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group or team that creates a risk to health and safety:

  1. The behaviour is repeated defined as persistent and it can involve a range of actions over time.
  2. Unreasonable behaviour means actions that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would see as unreasonable. It includes victimising, humiliating, intimidating, or threatening a person.
A single incident of unreasonable behaviour is not considered workplace bullying but it could escalate and should not be ignored.

Workplace bullying can be direct or indirect, and it can be carried out through email, text messaging, internet and other social media channels (Cyber Bullying). It can occur with or without reference to the personal characteristics of the individual targeted (e.g. race, colour, ethnic or national origin, gender etc.)

Harassment means verbal, written, visual or physical conduct which may or may not be of a sexual nature; or express hostility or bring a person into contempt or ridicule based on their race, colour, or ethnic or national origin; and is:
- Unwelcome or offensive to the recipient; and
- Of a serious nature or persistent, to the extent that it has a detrimental effect on the individual’s employment, job performance, opportunities or job satisfaction.

Inappropriate workplace jokes, or practical jokes that cause hurt, offence or embarrassment to recipients may constitute harassment, if they fall within the above definition.

Regardless of whether a recipient conveys to a person that their behaviour was unwelcome or offensive, that behaviour could still be considered harassment.

Harassment could also occur without any relationship to the personal characteristics of the individual targeted (e.g. race, colour, ethnic or national origin, gender etc.). Harassment may, in some cases, be a type of bullying.

An important element to remember with harassment is that there must be some “detrimental effect”, whether on employment, performance, opportunities, or satisfaction.

Harassment is a form of discrimination and Sexual and Racial Harassment are unlawful in New Zealand under both the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Human Rights Act 1993.
Other prohibited grounds of discrimination listed in New Zealand’s Human Rights Act 1993 are: written, visual or physical conduct in relation to sex, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disability, marital or family status, religion, ethical belief, political opinion, participation or the decision not to participate in the activities of an employee’s association, sexual orientation.

Workplace Conflict

Inevitably, personal differences will arise at work. The occasional difference of opinion, occasional non-aggressive conflict, or occasional problems in working relationships is not Bullying. To express opinions assertively, or engage in robust intellectual debate is not bullying, nor is performance management.

Rather, we categorise those issues as Workplace Conflict.

Conflict can be beneficial if it promotes new ideas and solutions, but it will not be bullying or harassment unless it meets the standards set out in the Workplace Bullying and Harassment Policy.

If a Workplace Conflict situation arises in your area of work, reflect and ask yourself what you can do to improve the relationship, to avoid it escalating.

If you have any concerns about a Workplace Conflict, you can discuss it with a manager.

5.0 Related Documents

  • Code of Ethics Policy
  • Disciplinary Policy 
  • Handbook

6.0 Version History









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