Contents on this page:

• The investigation shows some form of violation according to the law
• The investigation does not show a violation according to the law
• Measures at the individual, group and organisational levels
• Follow up to check if the measures have had the desired effect
• Preventing abusive conduct as part of SAM, OSA and SFAD

The investigation shows some form of violation according to the law

As a manager with an employer role or operational manager with responsibility for education, you must put in place measures if an investigation has showed that an incident falls within the framework for victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment. You are responsible for implementing preventative measures as part of systematic work environment management (SAM) and systematic preventative work against discrimination (SFAD).

In order to be able to close a case of abusive conduct, you must be able to conclude if the incident constitutes victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment according to the findings of the investigation and your own assessment. You should document this in a decision in which, if applicable, you also state that measures will be implemented and at what level. 

If the investigation concludes that a student has harassed or sexually harassed another student or a member of staff, you should report the case to the Vice-Chancellor so that the Disciplinary Board can take over.

Action plan for a member of staff who has behaved inappropriately

If you come to the conclusion that an employee who has behaved inappropriately needs to change their behaviour, an individual case should be opened in the registration system. Together with your closest HR officer or other administrative support and the member of staff in question, draft an action plan for the measures to be put in place. The action plan should be followed up periodically. If the behaviour does not change, you must follow the procedures for misconduct.

Read more about dealing with misconduct

The person who has been subjected to abusive conduct needs to be informed that you are taking action, but not the details of how you will deal with the person who has behaved inappropriately.

If there are other employees at the workplace or students taking the same programme or course who have also been affected by the incident, they should be informed that measures are being taken. This applies particularly if the measures are to be taken at a group or organisational level. The measures to be taken at the individual level should only be discussed with the specific individual, their trade union representative and your HR officer or the equivalent if it relates to a student.

The investigation does not show a violation according to the law

An investigation may conclude that the incident does not constitute victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment. It is still important, however, to explain to those involved the reasoning behind such a conclusion as what happened can still have an impact on the work environment. It could be that the person conducting the investigation cannot determine the facts of what happened to a satisfactory degree of certainty, or that the incident does not meet the requirements laid out by the law as to what constitutes a violation.

As manager, you have responsibility to ensure the good health of staff and students, and a good work and study environment. You must examine what factors have impacted the incident and work preventatively to ensure it is not repeated. Alongside the support services available, draft an action plan which lays out necessary measures. Follow up to check if the measures have had the desired effect and adjust the action plan as necessary. Ensure that those involved do not suffer any further ill effects after the investigation.

As a manager with an employer role, you can also check against the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s regulation Organisational and Social Work Environment (AFS 2015:4) in order to ascertain where the problem lies should this not be clear following the investigation. You can also order a work environment investigation as a complement to this. Speak first with your closest HR officer.

Close the case of abusive conduct by means of a decision in which you lay out the findings of the investigation and your assessment of them. Write a factual account of which measures you are implementing to ensure that the incident does not happen again. The decision should be registered in the case file and then close the case.

The investigation does not show any work environment problems

Aside from concluding there has not been a violation according to the law, an investigation may also conclude that there are no clear signs of problems in the work environment. As manager, you must check to see what you can do to make the person who feels violated comfortable at work. There may be several reasons as to why someone feels violated without the incident fulfilling the criteria for a violation according to the law, and the person has a right to those feelings.

You must also take care of the person who has been reported. Irrespective of the outcome, it can be stressful to be part of an investigation. Speak to your closest HR officer or the equivalent support for the education provider in order to get more information about the support available for those involved.

Measures

The purpose for implementing short and long-term measures is to ensure abusive conduct stops and is not repeated. Which measures are needed depends on the background to the incident. Measures can be put in place on an individual, group or organisational level.

At the individual level

The underlying reasons why one person subjects another to abusive conduct may be at an individual level. For example, it could be heightened stress due to a heavy workload or dissatisfaction and frustration for some other reason. As manager, you must determine why the person has subjected someone to abusive conduct and what you can do in order to prevent this from happening again.

Possible measures at the individual level:

• Make the person or persons aware that their behaviour is unacceptable and must stop immediately. Employees should also be made aware that a repeat of the behaviour could result in a risk to their employment.
• Follow up on those involved periodically, as well as anyone else connected to the incident. If the abusive conduct has stopped, check on how everyone is feeling.
• Keep a heightened watch, especially in places and at times that have proved to be high risk.
• Implement measures with the help of a counsellor or psychologist at the Occupational Health Service if the issue involves employees.
• In the case of students who do not stop the behaviour, report the incident to the Vice-Chancellor so that the Disciplinary Board can take over. Remember to document everything!
• Follow the misconduct procedures if the incident involves a member of staff who does not stop their behaviour. Remember to document everything!

Read more about the Disciplinary Board at the University (Staff Pages)

Measures at the individual, group and organisational levels

The underlying reasons why one person subjects another to abusive conduct may be at the group or organisational level. For example, the workload may be unevenly distributed due to unclear roles and mandates, or the procedures in place may be unclear or unknown to employees. It can also be that the workplace culture is too permissive and that it has become too difficult to speak up. 

Possible measures at the individual, group and organisational levels:

• Review the roles of the group. Is it clear who should do what, as well as when and how? Does everyone share the same understanding of this?
• Does everyone understand the law surrounding violations and that these are not permitted?
• Speak with the group together about how to treat others, jargon and differences. The aim is to create a work environment in which everyone feels comfortable. There is university-wide support material for managers with supervision, videos and discussion topics for this kind of conversation. Speak with your HR officer at the faculty level in order to get access to these materials.
• Review procedures and guidelines for their work. Are they clear and easily understood? Is everyone following them?
• Review the way work is organised. Are there distortions in the way work is distributed that need to be corrected?
• Ask for help from your HR officer, the SFAD coordinator and the work environment coordinator in order to find the correct measures. The health and safety representative may also have constructive suggestions. There is also support available from the Occupational Health Service and externally procured suppliers.

Follow up to check if the measures have had the desired effect

As manager, you must follow up on the measures you have implemented in order to ensure that abusive conduct does not occur again. If the measures were insufficient, you must consider further measures in order to stop the behaviour. Ask your closest HR officer for help.

You are responsible for stopping abusive conduct and preventing it from happening again. Raise the issue with your manager if the problem extends beyond your department or division.

Document as you go

Continuous documentation is crucial for being able to follow up the effects of measures put in place. If the case has to be passed on to the Staff Disciplinary Board (PAN), everything must have been investigated, handled and documented thoroughly and meticulously. Thorough documentation will also reveal if the abusive conduct is part of a larger problem that requires more substantial general measures.

Read more about the Staff Disciplinary Board (PAN)

Documentation may involve you and others working on the measures noting down incidents as they happen, deviations from the plan or similar issues. Some parts should be documented in memos or decisions, while others can be made in the form of diary entries, such as official notes. As a rule, documents are public so remain factual in everything you write. The important thing is that it is easy to retrieve all the documentation during a follow-up and that it is easily comprehensible to an outsider should it be needed as evidence in a court hearing or oversight by the Equality Ombudsman.

Preventing abusive conduct as part of SAM, OSA and SFAD

Preventing abusive conduct is part of systematic work environment management (SAM), and especially for the organisational and social work environment (OSA) and the systematic preventative work against discrimination (SFAD).

You should obtain support in this preventative work from your nearest work environment coordinator and SFAD coordinator. Sometimes the HR officer can provide support, especially if it is connected to a risk of ill health for members of staff.

It is a good idea to involve your health and safety representative in the planning of preventive work. They will often have another perspective on what might work or not. The health and safety representative can also provide good ideas on preventative measures.

Involve the whole team in prevention. We are each other’s work environment!

• Read more about systematic work environment management (SAM)
• Read more about the organisational and social work environment (OSA)
• Read more about systematic preventative work against discrimination (SFAD)