 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
dignity: harassment and discrimination
:
Investigating complaints
Introduction
The following section offers model guidelines for investigating formal
complaints of harassment or discrimination. These guidelines apply
if the process described in the sample practice “Reporting complaints” is
either unsuccessful in resolving an issue informally, or where it reveals
a case of serious harassment or discrimination.
As it is important for staff members to understand the procedures that follow the lodging of a complaint, it is recommended that Centers include such guidelines in an appendix to their Personnel Policy Manual.
A flow chart of this process appears in Overview:
investigating complaints.
These guidelines focus on a complaint lodged by one staff member against
another (or others). Centers would need to revise this policy slightly
to handle a complaint lodged by a non-Center person, e.g. a collaborator,
or a farm-worker or day laborer who may be unable to write a complaint
herself/himself.
Formal complaint
1 The complainant should present her/his
complaint in writing as soon as possible after the incident (or incidents)
that led to the complaint.
2 The written complaint should be addressed to the complainant's
immediate supervisor with copies to the HR Manager and the Director of
Corporate Services. Complaints of sexual harassment should also be copied
to the Director General.
3 If the alleged offender is the immediate supervisor, the written
complaint should be presented to the supervisor’s superior with
copies to the HR Manager and Director of Corporate Services. Complaints
of sexual harassment should also be copied to the Director General.
4 If the alleged offender is a Director (or
equivalent) or more senior staff member, the written complaint should
be copied to the Board Chair.
5 Complainants should not use e-mail or
fax for presenting complaints. In exceptional circumstances, where
e-mail or fax is the only realistic avenue of lodging the complaint,
it should be addressed to the Director General alone and not
copied to anyone else.
6 This process is the same for all <Center>
personnel, irrespective of whether locally hired or contracted, or internationally
recruited. It also applies to staff employed by other organizations who
have been seconded to the Center (or similar arrangements) such as interns
and students.
7 The written complaint should:
a) identify the alleged offender;
b) describe the specific offensive act or acts;
c) describe the time, circumstances, manner and location of the incident
(or incidents);
d) identify any witnesses or persons to whom the incident
was mentioned;
e) provide any other information relevant to the case such as whether,
and under what circumstances, the complainant made it clear to the alleged
offender that the offensive behavior was unwelcome;
f) include reference to any action taken according to the "Initial
reporting of complaint" procedure.
8 The complaint must be signed and dated
by the complainant.
Investigation of the Complaint
Preliminary action
9 When a complaint is received, the HR Manager
will:
a) immediately acknowledge receipt and advise the complainant that the
investigation process has been activated, and
b) forward the complaint to the Director General (or, in her/his absence,
her/his deputy) together with a list of possible members of an Investigating Panel.
c) provide counsel to the alleged victim, as needed, including information
about steps that will be taken and protection of confidentialities.
Investigating Panel
10 The Director General will then appoint
an Investigating Panel. It will comprise a minimum of four members representing
all staff levels and staff diversity, plus the HR Manager. Panel members
will be selected for their proven integrity and impartiality.
Note: if the complaint is against the HR Manager, other arrangements will
be necessary such as substituting the HR Manager from another Center.
Diversity Alert
The composition of the Investigating Panel will mirror
the nature of the complaint, for example:
• if one party is a woman and the other is a man, the Panel will
comprise both women and men;
• if the parties are of different ethnic communities, the Panel
will include members of both ethnicities;
• if either the complainant or the alleged offender/s is not fluent
in English, the Panel will include a member who is fluent in that party’s
first language.
G&D also recommends that Centers appoint a social
scientist to Investigating Panels where possible, to give the Panel professional
expertise in conducting semi-structured interviews
11 The Director General
will designate one of the Panel members as Chairperson.
12 The Chairperson (aided as necessary by
the HR Manager) will then:
a) advise the complainant in writing that the Investigating Panel has
been formed and who its members will be, and outline the steps of the
investigating process;
b) advise the alleged offender in writing of the complaint and include
a copy of the complaint, advise that the Investigating Panel has been
formed, who its members will be, and outline the steps of the investigating
process;
c) give the alleged offender the opportunity to respond in writing to
the allegations within a specific time.
13 The Chairperson’s written advice
to the complainant and alleged offender/s will specifically caution all
parties:
a) to keep all information confidential to the formal investigation process;
b) to avoid any behavior that may appear to be coercion of, or retribution
against, any party to the investigation, including witnesses;
c) that the consequence of ignoring this caution will automatically lead
to disciplinary action against the offender/s; and, in this regard,
d) the staff member/s will be held accountable for any coercion or retribution
by third parties (e.g. friends, associates, family members, ethnic community
members, etc.).
14 The HR Manager will make
all logistical arrangements for the Investigating Panel on behalf of the
Chairperson. The HR Manager will also make herself/himself available to
both complainant and alleged offender (separately) to provide expert and
unbiased advice about the general investigation process and preparations
for appearing before the Panel.
Colleague-advisors
15 The complainant and the alleged offender
may feel considerable stress at the prospect of appearing before a formal
investigation Panel. In recognition of this stress, both parties have
the option to be accompanied by a colleague-advisor to assist in their
presentation/defense of the complaint. The colleague-advisor shall be
an employee of a CGIAR Center.
Location of hearings
16 Investigation Panel hearings normally take
place at the complainant’s duty station in order to optimize access
to witnesses (both anticipated and unforeseen witnesses).
Investigation
17 The Investigation Panel will conduct an
investigation according to the following principles:
- neutrality – favoring neither party to the complaint until the Panel has collected and analyzed all relevant information;
- strict confidentiality – keeping all information acquired during the investigation entirely within the Panel, neither discussing nor disclosing any aspect to people outside the Panel (with the exception of the Director of Corporate Services and the Director General);
- fairness – investigating all aspects of both the complaint and the response/defense to the same degree of detail; and
- professionalism – conducting the proceedings to appropriate professional standards of investigation.
18 The Panel will consider
all information including the written complaint, the response from the
alleged offender and statements from witnesses or other relevant sources.
The Panel will interview the complainant, the alleged offender and any
witnesses. At the commencement of each interview, the Panel will remind
each interviewee of her/his obligation to keep evidence confidential.
19 The Panel will assess the reliability of
the source or sources of information, the evidence submitted and the existence
of any previous complaints against the same offender that may indicate
a pattern of behavior. The Panel will then decide:
a) whether the complaint has been justified; if so,
b) the impact of the offensive behavior on the complainant; and
c) whether there appear to be any mitigating circumstances.
20 Based on the above issues, the Panel will
decide on an appropriate recommendation to the Director General for action.
If the Panel recommends disciplinary action against the offender, it shall
recommend the specific level of action within the range of options specified
in the Center’s disciplinary provisions (i.e. reprimand, suspension,
reduction in grade and pay, or dismissal.)
21 As part of its investigation, the Panel
also will explore whether the offense was in any way due to failure of
the relevant line manager/s to act decisively as soon as a problem was
known or suspected. If the Panel discovers this was a factor, it shall
provide relevant details in its report.
22 The Panel will submit a written report
and recommendations to the Director General no later than eight weeks
after the presentation of the complaint.
Investigation
Panel Reports
These shall include:
(a) the names of the parties to the complaint;
(b) details of the complaint;
(c) the alleged offender’s preliminary response (if any) to the
allegations;
(d) the names of people interviewed, details of each interview, the evidence
acquired, and the Panel’s assessment of the quality of that evidence
(particularly whether it was fact, rumor or opinion);
(e) the Panel’s conclusion as to whether the allegation/s were justified
(and whether this conclusion was unanimous);
(f) where the Panel concluded the allegation/s had been justified, the
impact of the offensive behavior on the complainant and whether there
appeared to be any mitigating circumstances;
(g) where the Panel concluded the allegation/s had been justified, the
Panel’s recommendation about appropriate action against the offender;
and
(h) any other recommendations that might relate to the complainant’s
workplace, (re)education of the workforce on harassment/discrimination
issues, or other organizational learning needs that flowed from the investigation.
As part of its report, the Panel shall summarize the methods used to investigate
the complaint and include, in an appendix, all interview notes taken during
the investigation.
23 All proceedings will
be recorded and the records will be the property of <Center>. The
privacy of all those involved will be respected.
Decision on the complaint
Misconduct established
24 If the facts indicate that misconduct has
occurred, the Director General will advise the offender, and provide the
offender with a copy of the Panel’s report and recommendation. In
order to protect confidentiality, the offender’s copy of the Panel’s
report will be edited to eliminate the names of witnesses. The Director
General will also advise the offender of the proposed disciplinary action.
The Director General will provide this advice within 15 working days of
her/his receipt of the Panel’s report. The offender will be given
five working days to submit a written response.
25 The Director General (or her/his delegate)
will then interview the offender and explain what disciplinary measures
she/he has decided in light of the complaint, the Investigating Committee’s
report, and the offender’s written response. Any of the following
measures may be taken, depending on the severity of the offense, if they
are in line with the Center’s disciplinary provisions:
- verbal reprimand accompanied by counseling, so that the offender may improve her/his behavior;
- written reprimand and warning, with a copy for the offender's personal file;
- suspension, with or without pay;
- a monetary penalty, such as loss of annual performance increment;
- reduction in grade and pay; or
- dismissal.
Complaint not upheld
26 The Director General may decide to close
the case if the facts established by the investigation do not indicate
that misconduct has occurred. In this event, the Director General will
advise the complainant and the alleged offender in writing of the decision
and will include a copy of the Panel’s report. In order to protect
confidentiality, these copies of the Panel’s report will be edited
to eliminate the names of witnesses. The Director General will provide
this advice within 15 working days of her/his receipt of the Panel’s
report.
Follow-Up Actions
27 The HR Manager will advise the complainant
of the Center’s arrangements for providing counseling and ascertain
whether the complainant wishes to access such counseling. Where appropriate,
this may be provided by external counselors with suitable professional
expertise.
28 Any staff member who believes that he or
she was unjustly treated as a result of the investigation may take advantage
of <Center>'s grievance process to seek resolution of her or his
concern.
29 The HR Manager will carry out a follow-up
inquiry with the complainant three months after the complaint is decided
upon, regardless of the outcome. The inquiry should ascertain whether
the complainant has been subject to retaliation or threat of retaliation:
- by the offender, alleged offender or any other staff member in the workplace; or
- by the offender’s (or alleged offender’s) friends, associates, family or ethnic community.
30 In consultation with
the members of the Investigative Panel and others, as appropriate, the
HR Manager will guide a process of organizational learning based on review
of how well or how badly the individual harassment case was handled. How
could the process be improved in future? The HR Manager should also be
looking at whether there are any patterns to the Center’s harassment
cases over time. Are they happening more often in particular locations
or within particular units or between specific groups? What are the implications
for prevention?
© CGIAR Gender & Diversity
Program 2006