In compliance with the BFI’s dignity at work policy, The BanterFlix Film Society strives to offer an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We do not tolerate bullying and or harassment, racism or any other forms of discrimination, such as towards the D/deaf and disabled community.
We have a duty of care to protect individuals, we will make it our priority to support anyone who feels they have experienced any form of bullying/ harassment or racism from a member of our team and this policy is designed to help us do that.
At The BanterFlix Film Society we all share responsibility for ensuring a safe working environment for ourselves and others. You may not have experienced bullying or harassment directly, but have witnessed someone else being bullied or harassed. If this has occurred, you should raise your concerns in order to protect the safety and wellbeing of the other person.
We understand you may feel worried about getting involved in a situation that does not directly affect you. We will support you in raising your concerns in an informal or formal way, so the bullying or harassment can stop. We will not victimise, unfairly treat or discipline you for raising a genuine concern.
What is Bullying and Harassment?
Bullying is defined as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.
Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct which is related to a protected characteristic of the Equality Act 2010 (age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation), which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity, or creating for that person an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
It is important to note that not all harassment is sexual but keep in mind that, with sexual harassment:
- A hug, kiss on the cheek, or casual touch is not necessarily sexual harassment. The key is whether the behaviour was unwanted or offensive
- It does not matter if a person has sexual feelings towards the recipient, only that the behaviour is of a sexual nature and that it was unwanted and/or offensive
- Sexual harassment is gender-neutral and orientation neutral. It can be perpetrated by any gender against any gender.
Who Does The Policy Protect?
This policy applies to everybody working for the BanterFlix Film Society. This includes full-time and part-time staff, freelancers, sub-contractors and agency workers. It can be used by anyone experiencing bullying or harassment at work, work-related events such as social functions or business trips, as well as via telephone, email, text messages and online.
All those working with The BanterFlix Film Society are expected to comply fully with the terms of this bullying and harassment policy. They are also expected to familiarise themselves with the bullying and harassment Set of Principles
The BanterFlix Film Society regards acts of bullying and harassment and racism as a serious disciplinary matter. Those found to be acting in an unacceptable manner towards others may find their continued employment or engagement at risk.
How Do I Make a Complaint?
Anyone with a complaint regarding bullying and harassment can choose to pursue it via either a formal or informal process.
- The informal process
- The formal process
Informal process
If you have a complaint about bullying and harassment or racism, you may want to resolve problems informally where appropriate, before using the formal process. It is important to remember that the other person may be unaware of their behaviour and the impact it has on you, and your informal feedback may give the person a better understanding and opportunity to change or stop their behaviour.
We advise you to try to resolve your complaint as early as possible, if you feel able, to reduce stress and worry for you and possibly the other person involved.
To address a complaint informally, you should speak to anyone involved in the situation about how their behaviour is affecting you. It can be helpful to describe particular instances of this behaviour, including times, places, events or conversations in order to clearly illustrate your point. You should use the opportunity to ask the person to change or stop their behaviour.
If you feel unable to speak to the person yourself, you can approach an identified ‘designated person’ if the production or organisation has appointed one, your manager, or if the complaint is about your manager, the next level of management.
Formal process
If you do not feel that the informal process is a viable option for addressing your complaint, or if you have already pursued the informal process and your issue persists, you may decide to follow the formal process for addressing complaints. Or The BanterFlix Film Society may decide the matter is a disciplinary issue which needs to be dealt with formally.
We ask you to put your formal complaint in writing and send it to our email address at info@banterflix.com, your account should include full details of your complaint including a detailed account of the incident, the date it took place, who was involved including any witnesses, and any action you may have taken. This will provide the best opportunity to fairly and reasonably investigate your complaint while details of what took place can readily be remembered by anyone involved. We understand this may not be possible in all cases and will investigate any complaint made in good faith.
Once a formal complaint has been submitted the manager will send you written acknowledgement of the complaint.
The procedure for investigating a formal complaint is outline below.
- we will arrange a meeting with you to discuss the problem
- you have the right to be accompanied at the meeting
- we may need to speak to other witnesses
- the decision about your case will be made and communicated to you including any associated recommendations or appropriate action
- if you are unhappy with the result you will have the right to appeal