Everyone is writing about David Jones and Mark KcInnes. Did they do it, didn’t they? And then everyone is writing about Kristy Fraser-Kirk-some love her, hailing her as a champion for women and the fight against sexual harassment. Others hate her and call her a money grabbing, attention seeking wanna-be for claiming $37 million in damages and alot of media attention. But hardly anyone is saying anything about whether this reflects the current state of affairs in most organisations in Australia. And in addition if you are one of those workplaces that could end up looking like David Jones and have just been ‘lucky’ to avoid a complaint so far then wouldn’t you want to know what to do to NOT end up like them?…I would!
So if you want to know what to do then read on-
1. Make sure your policies on discrimination, harassment and bullying are accurate, up to date and easy to understand and access
2. Ensure all of your staff-including casual employees are regularly trained in relation to their rights and responsibilities in relation to discrimination, harassment and bullying
3. Have a clear, detailed step by step grievance policy that outlines exactly how and who should conduct an investigation
4. Make sure all of your managers and supervisors are trained on how to manage a grievance
5. Select and train core people in your organisation to act as grievance officers
6. Provide the option of an external investigator for complaints
7. Provide the option of an external counseling service for support
