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Defending Australia and its National Interests
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Minister |
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Defending Australia and its National Interests
Human ResourcesUnacceptable behaviour - who's responsible? You are...There could be a million reasons why a manager might not take action after unacceptable behaviour is reported to them. While sitting under your desk with your eyes shut and fingers stuffed into your ears might seem like an attractive solution, the bad news is that the problem won't disappear because you wish it away. The really bad news is it could land you in court facing heavy fines - and yes that is YOU, not Defence. As you should be aware, Defence has a legislated responsibility to provide an equitable workplace. Managers are responsible, accountable, and personally liable for ensuring Defence policies are followed. There have been instances where Defence managers have been fined tens of thousands of dollars by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission for failing to properly manage complaints. It's probably fair to say that most managers have the best intentions when it comes to managing unacceptable behaviour. They know that behaviours like bullying or discrimination simply aren't on, but confronted with an upset person accusing another of improper conduct, they freeze because they simply don't know what to do. Luckily, there is plenty of information available and experts who can help. Firstly it is important to understand what constitutes a complaint. If a person advises a commander or manager, or a commander or manager observes or even finds out aboutan incident of unacceptable behaviour - it is a complaint. The definition of unacceptable behaviour is fully explained in DI(G) PERS 35-3 Management and Reporting of Unacceptable Behaviour. A complaint can be anonymous and can be written or verbal. It is the commander or manager's responsibility to act on it within three weeks of receiving it. There are three aspects to the complaint management process:
Based on the information gathered through this assessment, the manager decides if the matter can be resolved informally or if it warrants a formal investigation. To do this you need to consider the seriousness of the allegation, procedural fairness, the effect it will have on discipline and morale and the resources, as well as the wishes of the complainant. In the case of a complaint about an Australian Public Service (APS) employee, the manager needs to consider the APS Values and Code of Conduct and refer possible breaches of the Code of Conduct to the delegate for investigation. An APS complainant who doesn't wish to make a complaint under the DI(G) PERS 35-3 complaints process, has the right to submit a Review of Actions instead. This means the complaint will be handled by an investigator external to the workplace. Communication is key to the manager's role and all involved parties should have the process and their support options explained - including the complainant, respondent and any witnesses. The manager should keep relevant parties informed of progress, while maintaining confidentiality as far as possible. Another aspect to the management role is record keeping. The manager must maintain a unit file with adequate records that includes the initial complaint, the investigation and any action taken. The process and responsibility for support and reporting is basically the same regardless of the size or complexity of the complaint. The Defence Plain English Guide to Managing and Reporting Unacceptable Behaviour is a really good place to start and has easy to read information on a lot of the basics like options for complaint resolution and the different support options for ADF, APS and contract staff. It also provides details about false or malicious complaints, victimisation and recurrence and the process to follow in the event of dissatisfaction with the outcome. If the thought of managing a complaint worries you - don't panic or ignore it - there is plenty of help available. The DEO website, at http://defweb2.cbr.defence.gov.au/dpeequity, has a wide range of information including the unacceptable behaviour policy and easy to follow guides for managing and reporting complaints. If you need specific information give the Defence Equity Advice Line a call on one of the freecall numbers (provided below). As the name suggests the advice line can provide information on Defence equity issues, and will point you in the right direction. Managers can also contact the Staff Officer Incident Management at DEO, who can advise them on how best to handle complaints. Criminal BehaviourIf it appears that the complaint might relate to a criminal offence during the quick assessment - immediately stop the assessment and refer the matter to the Service or state/territory police. Any investigation of complaints that appear to relate to a criminal offence must follow the procedures set out in DI(G) ADMIN 45-2 Reporting and Investigation of Alleged Offences within the Australian Defence Organisation. [ top of page ] Consider this...Alice is stressed and struggling with her workload. After a frustrating morning, she lets fly at Bob who is joking around near her desk. Bob takes umbrage at being called a useless gob of magpie spittle at the top of Alice's lungs and complains to their manager. The manager records and files Bob's complaint on a unit file. He then fills out form AC875-1, keeping a copy and sending a copy to the DEO Staff Officer Incident Reporting. Thinking over the meeting with Bob, he decides it is probably not serious enough to warrant a formal investigation even though Bob seemed quite upset. Alice and Bob usually get along just fine and it's a one-off occurrence. The manager pulls Alice aside and asks about the incident. She confesses that she is tired and stressed because of her workload and just snapped because Bob hasn't been pulling his weight. She says she knows what she did was probably not appropriate, and is happy to discuss it with Bob. The manager keeps a record of the interviews on the unit file. At this stage the manager might be tempted to say it's not a big issue and ignore it. Bad idea. While it isn't a big issue now, if it isn't resolved properly the situation could fester. It might cause tension between Alice and Bob, affecting their ability to work together. It may even flow over to other team members and begin to affect the team's ability to function cohesively. Managed well at this stage, though, it is relatively easy to resolve. Alice apologises but the manager decides to hold off for a week to see how things pan out before finalising the reporting. A couple of further incidents occur and then the relationship between Alice and Bob starts to deteriorate again. The manager makes inquiries about mediation, and when approached both Alice and Bob agree to a session. During the mediation session, Bob starts by telling Alice how hurt and embarrassed he has been at her outbursts and Alice responds by telling Bob how frustrated she has been by his work ethic. Under the qualified mediator's guidance they discuss the underlying issue of Alice's workload and decide that redistributing the workload fairly would resolve the problem and devise a proposal to take to the manager. The manager records the outcome on file and fills out form AC875-3 keeping a copy on file and sending another to DEO. Case closed. [ top of page ] Don't forget there are people who can helpDEO Website DI(G) PERS 35-3 Managing and Reporting of Unacceptable Behaviour Defence Plain English Guide to Managing and Reporting Unacceptable Behaviour: http://defweb2.cbr.defence.gov.au/dpeequity/publications/peguide2004.pdf Defence Equity Advice Line: [ top of page ] |
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