Dignity at Work Policy: Harassment and bullying

In order to ensure EY are supporting our people in raising concerns about harassment or bullying we have a Dignity at Work Policy, which has been updated to ensure it is in line with the best practice of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Technical Guidance.  In addition to the policy, the Guidance recommends a number of steps to prevent and respond to harassment which EY is committed to implementing where appropriate to do so.

The Firm expects its people to behave in a professional and appropriate way towards colleagues or others connected to the Firm including, for example, clients, suppliers, and job candidates. These principles are outlined in our Global Code of Conduct. Harassment, bullying and victimisation will not be tolerated by the Firm and may lead to disciplinary action.

The policy includes information including:

·         Where an individual can go and who they can speak to if they have a concern they want to discuss, or raise a complaint
·         Stating that confidentiality is a vital part of effectively managing and dealing with a complaint
·         Setting out a range of approaches for dealing with harassment, bullying and victimisation, from informal solutions to formal disciplinary processes
·         Setting out details of the role of the investigator (with a Guide for further information)
·         Setting out a range of consequences and sanctions if harassment, bullying or victimisation occurs

The Dignity at Work Policy aims to ensure that when the Firm becomes aware that harassment is taking (or has taken) place that it is dealt with promptly, efficiently and sensitively.