Don’t Go Without Solid Policies in Your Organisation
Part II: Harassment and Abuse Policies

By Devan Moonsamy CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute

As discussed in the first part of this series, a sound policy structure is an insurance blanket against many common problems that crop up in the workplace. Policy is a cornerstone of responsible management because it protects all concerned parties. What must be emphasised as much as the need for a policy is that staff know its provisions and abide by them.

Training and work-shopping a policy are thus necessary, and the right corporate trainer can do exactly that, but in an innovative way that ensures staff are well engaged in the policy training session and not bored and inattentive.

My many years of engagement with managers and staff in diverse South African contexts has helped me see that all parties want to feel secure at work, and they usually dislike ambiguity. They want to know what is expected of them and those around them.

In fact, an effective way to relieve stress and conflict among your staff is to make sure they know exactly where they stand. Policy provisions combined with education on such provisions is a winning formula in this regard.

So what policies should be drafted? We discussed BEE and gender equity policies in the first part of this article series. Here we will look at harassment and abuse policies, which can safeguard against many PR and labour-related problems.

Harassment and Abuse Policy
Companies and officials have a responsibility to protect those who are seen as vulnerable or as targets by abusers and harassers. ‘Harassment and abuse’ do sound scary, and this often means people just avoid the issues and hope it never happens. What should be much scarier is that the issues are being ignored, because this means that problems will happen. They most certainly are happening because few seem to have the skills, empathy and authority to really tackle harassment and abuse in the workplace in a meaningful way.

However, it is not that hard to draft a policy about harassment and abuse, and we will give you some great pointers here. When looking to draft any policy, a good starting point is our country’s legislation, which tells us a lot about what everyone’s rights and responsibilities are on all manner of issues. If in doubt, start with the Constitution’s provisions on human rights. Harassment and abuse are infringements against these rights.

Policy provisions should expressly forbid racism, sexual harassment, harassment of LGBTQI people, and xenophobia. The policy must protect employees against offensive speech – especially hate speech – and gestures and acts by having a reporting line and real consequences for offenders. Stipulations should be given for the offence to be acknowledged, the victim supported and protected from further harassment, and the offender to be held to account according to the seriousness of the offence.

To educate employees, they need to understand what harassment is. The difference between a thoughtless or poorly worded remark and harassment is fear. When a comment or action makes a person feel threatened, it is harassment. On the other hand, abuse is more easily recognised, but employees should know that it is to mistreat someone with disregard for their human rights. Put these definitions and explanations in the policy document so there is no ambiguity.
Power and authority can be abused in combination with abusing an employee, making such behaviour more serious than people realise. People may take a theft case more seriously than sexual harassment, forgetting that there are at least two victims in the latter case, and only one in the former. Sexual harassment endangers a company’s reputation as well as the victim of the abuse, and it should be taken much more seriously than it usually is.

A wolf whistle may seem harmless, for example, but for a young woman it can be very unsettling. This is because she is aware of what is really on the harasser’s mind. In a young woman, such fear will affect how happy and secure she is at work. Your workplace policy must protect her. Don’t just think about the company’s reputation, think about keeping your staff safe and happy so that they can give their best at work.

Employees should preferably be educated on what harassment is and why it is a problem before there is any chance for harassment to happen. There should be no uncertainty as to what is expected of men and women in the workplace.

Three other key factors related to harassment and abuse should also be discussed in policy and with staff: vulnerability, opportunity and consent. Some are more likely targets than others in terms of abuse. It is wise to prevent opportunities for harassment of vulnerable individuals by ensuring there is good supervision and security in place.

The concept of consent should be explained so that there is no uncertainty. Consent for any sexual act must be explicitly given. However, it is wise for management to prohibit sex, sexual acts and propositions for sex at work. This does not mean that there is no place for romance, but sex acts and propositions should not be happening during working hours and on company premises. Age of consent (16 years, but exceptions apply which make it unwise until the person is 18) can also be explained to employees and discussed in the policy.

Further issues to cover in your harassment policy include clear boundaries for behaviour, speech and equity; the various types of relationships that can arise in the workplace, and the professional expectations for these, specifically in relation to sexism; safety procedures; reporting lines and communication procedures; and legal recourse and punishment of offenders.

Staff who know all the basics will be much better equipped to handle and prevent abuse and harassment, as well as being forewarned as to what will happen if they perpetrate acts of abuse or harassment. It is easier to hold an employee to account on key performance indicators (KPIs), as many readers will well know, when they are clearly set out on paper, and the employee was made fully aware of them. Likewise, when staff members know the company’s stance on abuse and harassment, as clearly contained in policy, they will be more likely to respect conduct parameters.

ICHAF is a training provider with years of experience in training up conscientised, empowered employees who serve as proud and reliable brand ambassadors. Not only do we train staff on the critical skills needed for their job tasks, we also work on soft skills including diversity management, conflict management, ethics, and leadership, to name a few. We are ideally placed to conduct workshops and educate your staff on abuse and harassment in the workplace to the benefit of all involved. Let us show your staff the way to boost their career and the company’s image through best practice policies.

For more information about training your staff:
Website - http://www.ichaftraining.co.za/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheICHAFTrainingInstitute/?ref=br_rs
Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheIchaf

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For further comment from Devan Moonsamy you can email him on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact him on 083 303 9159 

Part I: Gender and BEE

By Devan Moonsamy, CEO of The ICHAF Training Institute

A sound policy structure in the workplace is an insurance blanket against many common problems. It protects both employer and employee. But having a great policy will make no difference if personnel are not aware of it. They should be expected to know, understand and follow its guidelines and rules.

Not all employees have the time to go through policy documents, however, and it can be tedious reading. The best thing to do is to give employees a summary of the policy. They can be asked to sign in agreement with the policy, which will encourage them to get to know its provisions well.

What works even better is to train employees on the policy, for example, by putting them through a workshop. This need not be a dreary affair. In fact, it can be really fun if approached in the right way and if it focusses on how the policy benefits the employee. The right facilitator can ensure staff understand, but don’t feel overburdened by the new policy provisions.

This is a very effective preventative measure which ensures employees know exactly what is expected of them and what their rights are.

People often focus a lot on what went wrong, especially reactively after a problem arises, such as a nasty incident between co-workers. But telling staff what they can and should be doing at work beforehand is more effective than just giving them a long list of what they can’t do. This helps them focus on being productive and getting along rather than worrying about how they might slip up.

Teaching and emulating good behaviour is also vital. Management sets the standard of behaviour. Employees never know everything they need to when starting a new job. There’s always things to learn, and it is extremely effective when one is taught the right behaviour as early on as possible.

The policy document itself is a critical backup. Staff members trained on key organisational policies can more firmly be held to account. If it’s in writing and it’s the company’s official stance on the matter, it makes it easier to handle problems in a mature, organised way. Risk Management planning has already been conducted and communicated by means of drafting and disseminating the policy, and training staff on it.

When staff are properly educated and trained, it greatly eases management’s concerns over their behaviour. What kinds of policies are important to have in place for South African businesses? In this first article we will look at two critical policies to create and train your employees and co-workers on.

Gender Equity Policy
The plight of women and girls in South African is an open secret. Everyone knows it is happening, but it remains well hidden. Nevertheless, the facts speak for themselves: women and girls are often in a difficult and subordinate position. They may have little say over their salaries, which jobs are open to them, and even over their very bodies.

Google recently got into serious trouble over pay inequities between male and female employees. The problem is severe enough that the US Department of Labour filed a lawsuit. Google tried to gloss over the problem, but experts quickly identified weaknesses in its approach, particularly in that it left out 11% of employees in an official gender-pay analysis.

PR Risk Management must not wait for disaster to strike. It can happen now by having good provisions in place which prevent these kinds of injustices. South African companies likewise must practice equal pay and benefits for equal work to redress the wrongs of the past.

Women also need to have an equal chance of being hired, promoted and trained. Women should not be seen as only fit for and kept in positions of ‘admin lady’ or ‘maid’. They must be invested in because they make great workers and very strong, effective and just leaders.

Women need to be heard in meetings, and they shouldn’t be expected to work harder than men just to be noticed or stuck under a glass ceiling. All this must be addressed in a gender equity policy document which HR and other staff members are well versed in and follow closely.

BEE Policy
This one goes without saying in South Africa, but staff do still need to understand what the company stance is with regard to BEE and why, and they must be monitored in following it. As Brand South Africa explains, ‘Black economic empowerment (BEE) is not simply a moral imperative... It is a pragmatic growth strategy to realise the country’s full potential by bringing the black majority into the economic mainstream.’

Various BEE provisions should be contained in the HR and recruitment policy, and the procurement policy. These include prioritising people of colour as much as possible in hiring, promotions, and buying decisions. A whole lot of black workers and a few white managers is still seen in some businesses. This must be addressed in binding policy to commit the company to equity measures. What specific BEE provisions do South African organisations have in place? A few helpful examples are given below.

Ithala Development Finance Corporation has in its BEE policy the provision that some contracts be sub-divided. This opens opportunities for black-owned SMMEs which may not yet have sufficient resources and staff to offer the most comprehensive services.

The Department of Trade and Industry emphasises that there must be active participation by black people in an enterprise for it to be considered as really following BEE principles.

Barclays Africa explains that it actively invites black-owned suppliers to participate in sourcing procedures. This has successfully helped the company to engage in business with more BEE companies.

NMMU’s policy makes BEE a key function of all managers. The University also measures the successful implementation of BEE in its employee performance assessments.

Tembeka Ngcukaitobi from Bowman Gilfillan notes that there is ‘No empowerment without skills.’ Skills development for all staff should be included in policy to meet BEE requirements.

The Shoprite Group/Checkers takes a very proactive approach by assisting new suppliers with creating barcodes and packaging so their products can be sold in stores. Every five years the employment equity plan is reviewed, and new targets are set to guide progress.

As a public company, Murray & Roberts has worked on its shareholder diversity, which now includes 59.53% black shareholders and 17.13% black women shareholders.

Besides these two key policies, companies should draft a disability policy, harassment and abuse policy, and have a training policy in place as well. We will look at these policies in detail in my next article on this topic. The organisational values, mission and goals are also commonly found in the first policy documents drafted, but don’t stop there. Draft additional policies with management input so as to protect the company and its employees. Proactively disseminate the most important policy messages using posters, emails, awareness drives, workshops, and training.

ICHAF is a training provider with years of experience in upskilling staff. We are ideally placed to conduct workshops and educate your staff on policies that will benefit all involved and protect the company from many PR and labour-related risks. Let us show your staff the way to boost their career and the company’s image through best practice policies.

For more information about training your staff:
Website - http://www.ichaftraining.co.za/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheICHAFTrainingInstitute/?ref=br_rs
Twitter - https://twitter.com/TheIchaf

For further comment from Devan Moonsamy you can email him on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact him on 083 303 9159

Funeral insurance is the most prevalent form of insurance in South Africa with just less than 90% of all risk cover being attributed to this form of insurance, more than a quarter of which is informal.  

And this is reflected in the 4.2 million policies RubiBlue’s EasiPol product has running through its policy management software and the R3.7 billion in payments it collects annually. “We currently work with 550 funeral policy providers, and are signing between 20 and 30 new funeral parlours onto our product monthly,” remarks RubiBlue MD, Chris Ogden. 

The South African funeral assistance business became a target of debate in 2003 following the South African Parliamentary Committee on Finance (PCOF) where evidence of abusive practices in the funeral insurance market in South Africa was presented. And where RubiBlue spotted a gap in the market and created EasiPol to collect policy payments. 

The collection of policy payments in rural locations was previously fraught with fraud, ‘lost’ payments and often policy holders not being covered due to arrears. This is mainly due to instalments made in cash because it is estimated that 67% of the adult population in South Africa are unbanked, with 37% living in rural areas. “There were also reports from funeral service operators of inaccurate reporting, and many consumers complained about poor customer service during emotional times,” adds Ogden. “EasiPol is a tool to prevent this.” 

Growth propulsion

On the rapid growth and uptake of the service, RubiBlue puts it down to not only organic client growth, higher retention ratios and funeral service providers realising that EasiPol allows them to enter rural markets which have previously been inaccessible for their products. 

Improving citizen well-being

Giving the unbanked access to formal financial services such as insurance policies has its benefits to individuals: improved well-being, financial responsibilities taken care of, and a personal sense of worth for the heads of the home. “Policies are more likely to be taken out by the female head of house, and the policy holder will ensure their policy is paid over purchasing food,” adds Ogden. “They know that falling in arrears will mean the policy won’t payout for six months after being back in the black.” 

About EasiPol

EasiPol was designed by software consultancy RubiBlue for the secure and simple collection of cash payments. It is the only fully customisable, web-based administrator package of its kind for administrators and insurance underwriters. Sales and collections in the field are made using a remote terminal for payments, data look-ups and receipting for transparent and accurate reporting. By being in the field with reliable devices, software and data access, organisations using EasiPol have seen an increase in collections and reported better client satisfaction. EasiPol provides a complete multi-platform policy administration/payment solution, ensuring a secure, centralised, backed up data store, which prevents fraud and theft; ensuring administrator and client peace of mind.