Counteracting mobbing is defined in article 943 of the Labor Code as a duty of every employer. It should be noted that the employer is responsible for mobbing on the basis of risk and not fault. This means that in the event of a court dispute, he must show what actions he has taken to prevent abuse. In order to prevent mobbing in large companies, internal anti-mobbing procedures are established. Thanks to this, the employer has the opportunity to minimize the risk of such a situation occurring in his workplace and possibly prove that he has taken appropriate steps to prevent it.
The internal procedure for counteracting mobbing and other undesirable practices in the workplace may be defined in the form of regulations introduced in the form of an ordinance signed by a person highest in the management hierarchy in the workplace. Each employee should read this regulation and sign a declaration that he or she has read its content. The content and scope of such regulations should be adapted to the nature of a given workplace – i.e. its size, number of employees, organizational structure and the specificity of the industry.
The best form of combating mobbing is, of course, prophylaxis, but it is important to anticipate the course of action when a mobbing situation occurs. The most important part of such a procedure is determining the form of reporting unwanted practices and how to handle complaints. It is important for employees to be able to report mobbing behavior anonymously. Often, training and employee surveys are part of the anti-mobbing procedure in large companies.
Internal anti-mobbing procedures provide for the appointment of a team that will conduct explanatory proceedings in the event of a mobbing situation. It depends on the will of the employer whether it will be a standing or ad hoc committee, it is also possible to bring in external persons to strengthen its impartiality and professionalism. The complaining employee and the accused have the right to participate in the proceedings at every stage, they can participate in the testimony by witnesses, ask them questions and personally give evidence or explanations. On an equal footing, they can read and refer to all the evidence. The report on the investigation prepared by such a commission is the basis for the employer to draw consequences, e.g. disciplinary dismissal of the offender or implementation of corrective measures.
The anti-mobbing procedure should be transparent because it relates to the rights and obligations of all employees and its task is to create real protection for employees.
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