Inappropriate behaviour

Clear guidelines to prevent inappropriate behaviour

It is your duty as an employer to prevent employees experiencing any physical or mental health problems because of inappropriate behaviour such as bullying and sexual harassment.

The best way to prevent inappropriate behaviour is by combining information and dialogue with clear signals from the management.

Each organisation should develop an organisational culture with norms and values that actively discourage inappropriate behaviour, including bullying and sexual harassment. The requirement is that the entire workplace, and particularly the management, has clear values and views that are being communicated in objectives, rules and concrete actions.

In addition to clear guidelines for unaccepted behaviour, the organisation should also have clear guidelines for how those affected can report the behaviour and get advice if they experience any inappropriate behaviour. It is a good principle that conflicts are dealt with and solved through the employee's immediate line manager. It should be clear what the employee is to do if his or her immediate line manager is part of the problem.

The issue could also be dealt with in connection with the workplace assessment, and through this process making it possible to shed light on any inappropriate behaviour.

Contact one of our specialists for an informal talk about how we can help you draw up and implement clear guidelines for your organisation.

Extend or establish a whistleblower policy

To ensure that any future unwanted behaviour is discovered, we recommend that a whistleblower policy is either put in place or that your existing whistleblower policy is extended so that any suspicion of inappropriate behaviour can be reported on the basis of the whistleblower policy.

If your organisation does not want a whistleblower policy, we recommend creating an environment where it is safe for the employee to report any inappropriate behaviour to his or her line manager or HR.

Launch an investigation

If you suspect any systematic, inappropriate behaviour or any inappropriate behaviour of a certain severity in your organisation but you cannot identify the cause or the extent, launching an investigation can be the appropriate solution. In such situations it is often advisable to let an external and independent party handle the investigation. A credible investigation can determine what actually took place. An investigation will also help quieten things down while the matter is being investigated, and the suspicion of any inappropriate behaviour is being clarified.

The credibility of the organisation depends on the external party conducting the investigation doing so with respect for the individual, both the possible victim and the individual suspected of inappropriate behaviour. Exercising discretion regarding all the individuals involved so that no hasty conclusions are drawn is also paramount, as is room for an impartial investigation actually being conducted where all individuals involved feel that their version of the story is being heard and taken seriously. This can be done through either questionnaires or interviews.

Take action on certain behaviour

If certain behaviour is established, the employment law sanctions against the person in question are to be determined. An organisation should have formulated a definition of what is meant by a work culture with "zero tolerance" and the sanctions to be imposed in regard to any "old" matters. It is important to have guidelines in place so that the decision on sanctions is not influenced by whether the individual is a competent and well-liked employee or a difficult and low-performing employee.  Possible sanctions can be oral or written warnings, moving the employee to another position, dismissing or summarily dismissing the employee, depending on the severity of the behaviour.

What is sexism?

Sexism is not a legal concept under Danish law, but the legal term "sex discrimination" is used in a number of Danish acts. We each have our own idea of what sexism is, but it is important that every organisation has "a shared language/definition" of what unacceptable behaviour is.

According to the guidelines on inappropriate behaviour, including bullying and sexual harassment, of the Danish Working Environment Authority (WEA), the definition of inappropriate behaviour is:

"where one or several individuals subject other individuals to either coarse behaviour or repeated behaviour that such individuals find degrading."

The following is written about inappropriate behaviour in the form of sexual harassment in the guidelines:

"Inappropriate behaviour of a sexual nature is all types of unwanted sexual attention and could be:

- unwanted touching

- unwanted verbal requests for sexual intercourse

- obscene jokes and comments

- irrelevant questions about sexual subjects

- showing pornographic material