Reporting sex based harrassment

[workschmerk]

I have been in a new job for a few weeks. There have been lot of instances of casual sexism - language and behaviour - that I've noticed. I raised some of these these verbally with my line manager that relate to one specific colleague, He suggested we speak to the colleague's line manager and set up a meeting to do so.

Then my line manager went on leave and while he was away, there were more instances of sexism, now involving the language/behaviour of other colleagues. I was at the stage where there were so many instances of inappropriate language use/behaviour that they were all swimming round my head and I was forgetting/confusing the details, so I wrote them all down and emailed them to my line manager. In my email I stated that I was not making a formal grievance but rather wanted the management team to be aware of what I was experiencing. I read the company policy on grievances beforehand: it says that raising issues informally and talking them through with your line manager in the first instance is the best course of action.

The meeting between my line manager, the line manager of the first colleague I reported to him, and I, has now been cancelled, and I have since been invited on my next working day to what I think is a formal meeting with my line manager and an HR member. I have been invited to bring someone with me to this meeting. This feels like a very formal reaction to something I stated was not a formal grievance. My line manager says that because I sent in a written account, now HR has to be involved.

Does this sound like it's being treated like a formal grievance, even though I stated it wasn't? Should I take someone to the meeting? if so, why would I need to? Do I need legal advice? I'm concerned that I'm going to be treated like the problem.

It could be going formal or staying informal

In normal life this sounds formal, but the inclusion of HR could still mean they are keeping it ‘informal’ but it’s serious enough to be done properly

Informal can include anything from a quick chat to a lot of details, and any subsequent action could be “I’m informally telling/warning x that their remarks cross the line” which would escalate in the future to formal warnings and further action

Or what you have reported on an informal basis has been taken seriously and adopted to go onwards formally

There’s also the possibility that informal measures have already taken place in the past, therefore you raising the matter has resulted in escalation of previous occurrences

HR manager here. It’s a common misunderstanding that a colleague has total say in whether a grievance is informal or formal. What the determining factor is, is the substance of the issue. Widespread sexism is a serious issue in any organisation and if the business thinks that formal disciplinary action may be a possible outcome then they will have to investigate and treat it formally. Don’t be afraid, it’s good they are taking it seriously and sometimes the fresh perspective of a new employee helps to identify the cultural norms that have formed and been left unaddressed that really need tackling.

PS

Bring someone if you can and be clear on what you want as an outcome.

eg You intended to have the matter dealt with informally, so (making my interpretaton) the circumstances of leave absence have just extend the time, but you may just want the situation to be clear that you feel uncomfortable and that (if you are happy with this) that you would be happy with the resolution being that those involved are made aware that what they might have thought to get casual remarks are causing / have caused distress - the outcome being that they don’t continue

If they do continue irrespective of that then it’s a different matter

You can show that you only wanted an informal resolution, that didn’t occur in a timely manner due to various reasons, and you still see ‘fairness’ in the others having the opportunity to change without formal action

(Though the ‘company’ may find the behaviour unacceptable anyway)

HRs job is to protect the company from itself.
HR people can be demons, but they can also be helpful

HR will need to ensure that:
You are not subject to harrasment (which also protects the company from you making a claim)
The ‘harrassers’ are treated ‘fairly’ (that they aren’t gong to claim against the company for sacking them without following processes or defining the ‘acceptable environment’)
The company / management have acted appropriately to complaints

Thank you @Tomikka and @Rainbowshine - what you've said makes sense and is reassuring!

I wouldn't worry about it. HR getting involved is a good thing as it means they are taking it seriously.

As someone said above, make sure you know what you want the outcome to be, so you can make the most of the meeting and can offer and receive clarity on how the situation will be dealt with.

Make sure the person you take with you takes contemporaneous notes.

good luck OP. Whatever you do take someone with you who is level headed, not involved in the management or HR side, and is a good note taker.

If anything isn't clear ask again. Not sure what it's like where you are, but can you ask if it's ok to record so you can make notes later?