<div dir="ltr">Can staff be disciplined over offensive language?
<header class="gmail-article-header"><div class="gmail-column"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-column__full"><div class="gmail-article-header__headline-container"><div class="gmail-badge__wrapper"></div></div></div></div></div></header><div class="gmail-article-header__social"><div class="gmail-column"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-social__networks"><ul class="gmail-social__networks-list"><li class="gmail-social__networks-item gmail-social__networks-item--comments"><a href="https://www.ftadviser.com/companies/2018/03/14/can-staff-be-disciplined-over-offensive-language/#comments" class="gmail-social__networks-link"><div class="gmail-icon-speech-bubble"></div><span class="gmail-social__networks-comments"><span class="gmail-social__networks-comments-text">Be the first to comme</span></span></a></li><li class="gmail-social__networks-item"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.ftadviser.com/companies/2018/03/14/can-staff-be-disciplined-over-offensive-language/" target="_blank" class="gmail-icon gmail-social__networks-link"><div class="gmail-logo-facebook"></div></a></li><li class="gmail-social__networks-item"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.ftadviser.com/companies/2018/03/14/can-staff-be-disciplined-over-offensive-language/&title=Can%20staff%20be%20disciplined%20over%20offensive%20language%3F&summary=Q%20One%20of%20my%20employees%20often%20uses%20offensive%20language%20sometimes%20in%20front%20of%20clients%20When%20is%20disciplinary%20action%20justified&source=FT%20Adviser" target="_blank" class="gmail-icon gmail-social__networks-link"><div class="gmail-logo-linkedin"></div></a></li><li class="gmail-social__networks-item"><a href="mailto:?subject=Can staff be disciplined over offensive language?&body=https://www.ftadviser.com/companies/2018/03/14/can-staff-be-disciplined-over-offensive-language/" class="gmail-icon gmail-social__networks-link"><div class="gmail-icon-mail"></div></a></li><li class="gmail-social__networks-item gmail-social__networks-item--print"><a class="gmail-icon gmail-social__networks-link gmail-js-print-preview"><div class="gmail-icon-print"></div></a></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail-column"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-column__main gmail-article__content"><div class="gmail-article__headline-image"><figure><div class="gmail-image-container"><img src="https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/http%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Ffta-assets-development%2Fez%2Fimages%2F5%2F1%2F8%2F0%2F1240815-11-eng-GB%2Ffrustrated_adviser.jpg?width=700&source=ftadviser" alt="Can staff be disciplined over offensive language?"></div></figure></div><div class="gmail-article__brand"><div class="gmail-article__brand-logo gmail-logo-financial-adviser"></div></div><p class="gmail-article__byline"><strong>By <a href="https://www.ftadviser.com/peter-done/" class="gmail-article__byline-link"><span>Peter Done</span></a></strong></p><div class="gmail-article__content gmail-js-article-content"><div class="gmail-article__stand-first ezrichtext-field"><p><strong>Q:</strong>One of my employees often uses offensive language, sometimes in front of clients. When is disciplinary action justified?</p></div><div class="gmail-o-ads gmail-align-left gmail-ads__in-body gmail-js-article-mid1"><div class="gmail-o-ads__outer"><div class="gmail-o-ads__inner" id="gmail-mid1-gpt"><div id="gmail-google_ads_iframe_/5887/ft.adviser/your.industry/companies/your.industry_5__container__" style="border-color:currentcolor;border-style:none;border-width:0pt"></div></div></div></div><p><strong>A:</strong>Employers
striving to achieve a positive and productive working environment
should actively discourage the use of offensive language. It can cause
serious divisions in the teams, and may also result in reputational
damage when clients become exposed to the offensive language.</p><p>To
know when to take action it is important to define what is meant by
offensive language. To do this, a workplace policy on misconduct or
appropriate behaviour can be used. The policy will outline what is
considered as unacceptable language, making particular reference to
remarks about religion, sexuality, race, age, gender and disability. </p><p>The policy should also remind employees that banter will not be considered as a reasonable excuse for offensive language.</p><p>Employees
have a duty to treat each other and third parties with respect at all
times. If an employee is suspected of using offensive language,
prohibited under the workplace policy, a disciplinary process can be
carried out under the company’s policy. </p><p>A full investigation
should be carried out initially and in accordance with the conciliation
service Acas’s code of practice on disciplinary and grievance
procedures.</p><p>The Acas code advises firms to hold meetings with
witnesses to get their account of events and accusations, and hold a
meeting with the accused employee to get their account of events and
collate other relevant documents that may be used as evidence. The
investigation must be carried out without any unreasonable delay, as
delays could lead to a lack of clarity in witness statements. The
individual leading the investigation should also not be connected in any
way to the allegations.</p><p>Depending on the severity of the
accusations, it may be advisable to temporarily suspend the accused
employee at the outset. The investigation results should provide
sufficient evidence to hold a disciplinary hearing, where the employee
responds to the evidence put before them. Where the employee is found to
have carried out the misconduct, formal disciplinary sanctions can be
imposed. </p><p>The level of sanction needs to be reasonable and should
apply in accordance with the internal disciplinary policy. The employee
must be informed of the outcome in writing and they should be afforded
the right to appeal the disciplinary decision.</p><p><strong>Peter Done is managing director of law firm Peninsula</strong></p></div></div></div></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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