Policy against VH - Cretan Medicare

INTRODUCTION

The company “Cretan Medicare S.A.” with registered office 19 El. Venizelou Hersonissos, Heraklion, and with the object of activity “MEDICAL CENTER” hereinafter referred to for short as “COMPANY” understands that all its employees have the right to work in their workplace without being subjected to oppression, intimidation, harassment, and violence of any kind.

Such behaviors and incidents are unacceptable and may prove to be dangerous for both the employee and the “COMPANY” such as employee stress, sense of humiliation, lack of motivation, reduced efficiency, absenteeism or permanent withdrawal from work, legal entanglements, the bad reputation of the company, etc.

It is the obligation of the “COMPANY” to ensure permanently a non-toxic working environment, where it will guarantee, promote, and safeguard the right of every employee to work without the stress of unequal treatment, discrimination, oppression, harassment, and violence of any kind.

To this end, it sets out a framework of rules and action, a policy to combat violence and harassment in the workplace while providing safe and accessible ways for workers to make their complaints.

PURPOSE OF THE POLICY

This “policy” is established by Articles 9 and 10 of Law 4808/2021, along with regulatory legislation addressing the prevention and combat of violence and harassment in the workplace, including gender-based incidents.

Before finalizing this policy, a draft was made available in an accessible space, enabling employees to review and provide feedback.

The “COMPANY,” steadfast in its commitment to the principles that condemn violence in all its forms, harassment, or oppression, asserts that every employee has the right to work in an environment where equality and the assurance of human dignity are ensured. In line with these principles, the company is implementing a “policy” aimed at preventing and addressing such incidents in the workplace, irrespective of whether they arise from company executives, fellow employees, or individuals associated with the “COMPANY.”

SCOPE OF APPLICATION

The policy of the “COMPANY” applies to:

Employees in the company with dependent employment relationships, whether fixed-term or indefinite, part-time or full-time
Trainees and apprentices
Borrowed employees
Employees hired through Temporary Employment Agencies
Workers on assignment
Collaborators with contracts for independent services
Job applicants to the ‘COMPANY’
Individuals whose work relationship with the ‘COMPANY’ has ended.
Individuals exercising the employer’s authority, duties, and responsibilities.

The policy applies to violence and harassment occurring during, related to, or resulting from work:

(a) in the workplace, including public and private spaces considered as workspaces,

(b) n areas where employees are compensated, take breaks for rest or meals, or use toilets, sinks, and changing rooms,

(d) through work-related communications, including those conducted via information and communication technologies,

(e) in accommodations provided by the employer, and

(f) during the employee’s commute to and from work.

DEFINITIONS

a) “Violence and harassment” refer to forms of behavior, acts, practices, or threats thereof, aiming, leading, or likely to lead to physical, psychological, sexual, or economic harm, whether occurring individually or repeatedly.

b) “Harassment” refers to forms of behavior that have the purpose or result of undermining a person’s dignity and creating a hostile, humiliating, demeaning, or aggressive environment, whether they constitute a form of discrimination, such as harassment rooted in gender or other forms of discrimination.

c) “Gender-based harassment” refers to forms of behavior connected with a person’s gender, which have the purpose or result of violating the dignity of that person and creating a hostile, humiliating, demeaning, or aggressive environment and include sexual harassment, as well as behavior connected with sexual orientation, expression, identity, or characteristics of a person’s gender.

d) Oppression is indeed a form of harassment, and the term is used to describe behavior characterized by intimidating or demeaning actions. The consequences of oppression create a work environment in which a group of individuals or a particular person is systematically intimidated by the negative or hostile behavior of another group of people or an individual.

Oppression typically involves the misuse of power and position and is often persistent and unpredictable. It can be retaliatory, harsh, and malicious. However, it can also be unintentional, with the person unaware of the effects of their behavior on others or without any intention of oppression.

e) Sexual harassment is defined as any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal, or physical behavior of a sexual nature intended to offend the dignity of a person, particularly creating a hostile, hostile, humiliating, demeaning, or aggressive environment. Comments on someone’s appearance or character that cause shame or embarrassment.

Indicative and not restrictive instances of harassment and oppression may include the following:

Comments about someone’s external appearance or character that cause shame or embarrassment.
Use of offensive phrases when describing a person with a disability or mocking someone with a disability.
Insulting and demeaning references to age, family status, personal life, sexual preferences, race or ethnicity, and religion.
Innuendos, sexual comments, or mockery against homosexuals.
Unwanted sexual gestures or persistent sexual propositions.
Threats or insinuations that refusal or acceptance of sexual advances may positively or negatively affect someone’s career.
Offensive, racist, sexual comments or phrases, and the spread of malicious comments due to any form of discrimination.
Rude sexual gestures or content.
Offensive disdain and unjustifiable attempts to alienate someone from the work environment.
Projection or circulation of offensive or indecent material.
Sending unwanted messages with sexual content via email, SMS, or social media.
Verbal or gestural threats accompanied by derogatory expressions or comments.
Personal insults or belittling, ridiculing an individual or their abilities, either privately or in front of others.
Outbursts of anger against someone, often for trivial reasons.
Subjecting someone to excessive or oppressive monitoring, scrutinizing everything they do and excessively criticizing minor matters.
Exercising persistent or unjustifiable criticism.
Assigning humiliating or trivial tasks that are not appropriate for the job or removing significant responsibilities from the individual without justification.

Indicatively, but not restrictively, the following actions are not considered violence, harassment, or oppression:

Disagreements on professional matters
Applying reasonable performance criteria to employees
Meeting reasonable deadlines for task completion
Constructive feedback to an employee regarding their work results
Providing guidance or interventions to improve employee efficiency.
Observations to an employee for inappropriate behavior toward colleagues, superiors, and management of the “COMPANY”

CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

Violence, harassment, and oppression in any form within the workplace have detrimental consequences for both the victim and the business.

For the victim, the consequences (emotional, psychological, and physical) can range from severe to catastrophic. In cases of systematic and long-term harassment, the victim is flooded with feelings of anger, self-doubt, shame, incapacity, humiliation, misery, and despair, which manifest as aggression, melancholy, depression, mania, increased difficulty in cooperation, abuse, anxiety, or an inability to cope.

Violence and harassment in the workplace poison not only the targeted employee but also the entire work environment. Reduced dedication, high levels of absenteeism, loss of motivation, vision, enthusiasm, creativity, trust, satisfaction, and ethics are observed. Productivity-wise, it’s estimated that the victim’s performance level decreases by 80%, while the suspicion of bullying renders all employees vigilant about unproductive processes, leaving them confused and exhausted. Internal and external conflicts contribute to an increasing number of accidents, a decrease in quality standards, an inability to meet deadlines, and inadequate customer service, all with negative repercussions for the business.

The finances of the “COMPANY” may be affected by high expenses due to repeated or long-term sick leaves, contributions, and compensations, while also impacting the company’s reputation, public image, and trust in the external environment.

DECLARATION OF ZERO TOLERANCE TO VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

The ” COMPANY ” states that it exhibits and will continue to exhibit zero tolerance for any form of violence and/or harassment in the workplace (physical violence, sexual harassment, moral harassment, oppression, etc.) from any source, such as:

From one employee to another employee.
From a superior to a subordinate.
Between superiors, or among staff members.
From a subordinate to a superior.
From a subordinate to an employer or a member of the company’s management.
From the management of the “Company” towards its employees.

The “COMPANY” commits to receiving, investigating, and handling with impartiality, seriousness, respect, and confidentiality all incidents of violence and/or harassment in its workplace, as referred to in the “SCOPE,” and declares that no employee will face retaliatory practices from the “COMPANY” and will not suffer adverse consequences for reporting such incidents.

The “COMPANY” declares that it prohibits any employee, or any other person associated with it in any way from engaging in retaliatory actions against another person for reporting incidents of violence and harassment or assisting in the clarification of such incidents.

The “COMPANY” is committed to providing access and assistance to any relevant government agency or judicial authority involved in investigating incidents of violence and harassment in its workplace.

The “COMPANY” commits to taking all necessary measures to prevent incidents of violence and harassment in its workplace.

MEASURES FOR PREVENTION ELIMINATION AND ERADICATION OF VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

The “COMPANY” considers as its primary goal the existence of a work environment characterized by respect, mutual appreciation, solidarity, equality, acceptance of diversity, and the absence of incidents of violence and harassment. However, until we reach this point, the “COMPANY” takes preventive measures to substantially decrease the frequency and severity of such incidents.

Indicative measures include:

Identification of problems and root causes that lead to incidents of violence and harassment in the workplace. This information will contribute to taking appropriate actions to address the issue.
Training of ‘COMPANY’ personnel through specialized seminars to not only prevent incidents of violence and harassment but also provide support to victims of such behaviors.
Systematic information dissemination among employees about the characteristics of violence and harassment, their rights and obligations concerning such incidents, and ways to address them.
Implementation of activities within and outside the ‘COMPANY’ aimed at improving social relationships in the workplace (events, celebrations, trips, etc.).
Avoidance of actions involving unfair treatment of employees
Efforts for the timely identification of suspicious behaviors
Encourage employees to report incidents of violence and harassment involving themselves or their colleagues.
Immediate handling of incidents of violence and harassment and imposition of sanctions, as provided, on the perpetrators.
Support for victims of violence and harassment (moral support, encouragement, and assistance in overcoming potential isolation, encouragement to seek administrative or legal remedies, granting leave, etc.)
Provision of psychological and counseling support to victims to help them regain their confidence.
Cooperation with administrative and judicial authorities will be called upon to investigate incidents of violence and harassment in the premises of the “COMPANY.”

EMPLOYEES REPORTS – COMPANY ACTIONS – REPORTING PERSON

Any employee at the “COMPANY” who experiences violence and harassment in the workplace can submit a complaint, either in writing, by phone, or via email.

An employee who perceives or witnesses an incident of violence and harassment can submit a complaint as described above.

Any third party associated with the “COMPANY” in any way who becomes a victim of violence and harassment in the company’s workplace or becomes aware of such incidents may also file a complaint as described above.

Any person among the above who believes they are facing retaliation or retaliatory practices because they submitted a complaint, whether for themselves, a colleague, or another person who became a victim of violence and harassment, may also file a complaint for this reason.

Complaints should be clear and must include, at a minimum, the full name of the victim, the full name of the perpetrator or perpetrators, and a description of the incident.

The “person of reference” for the company’s policy is Ms. Anna Kalogridi.

Complaints can be submitted using the following methods:

Directly to the “person of reference” in writing.
Via email at akalogridi@cretanmedicare.gr
By phone +30 28974 40761 for urgent cases.

Complaints are received by the “Company’s designated person,” who investigates each reported incident with utmost confidentiality, collects information, and after a careful and thorough examination submits written opinions to the members of the company’s Board of Directors.

The members of the Board of Directors, following their own investigation, collectively decide, or only the President of the Board of Directors, on the complaints. The judgment-decision is communicated to both the complainant and the accused.

In case of disciplinary offenses related to violence and harassment, penalties are initially imposed on the accused. These penalties may vary based on the severity of the offense, ranging from verbal or written reprimands to the termination of the employment contract.

Apart from the penalties, however, the President of the Board of Directors or collectively the members of the Board of Directors can take the following actions:

Changing the location, schedule, or position of the accused.
Referring the case to administrative or judicial authorities (SEPE, Ombudsman, Police, Prosecutor).

A prerequisite for imposing a penalty is summoning the accused to provide a defense. The defense must be in writing and must be submitted to the “point of reference” no later than within five working days from the day of notification.

The competent authorities for imposing a fine are:

The President of the Board of Directors.
The Administrative Council of the company.

The penalty of a written reprimand can be imposed solely by the President of the Board of Directors of the company.

Similarly, the change in the location, schedule, or position of the accused can be imposed solely by the President of the Board of Directors of the company.

The decision to terminate the accused person’s employment contract is determined by the Board of Directors of the company.

Referral of the case to administrative or judicial authorities is decided by the Board of Directors of the company.

The decision regarding the penalty is communicated in writing to the employee and is retained in their personnel file.

The company’s policy against violence and harassment in the workplace, as formulated by “COMPANY” and outlined in this handbook, is immediately effective. It will be permanently displayed at a prominent location within the company premises, at the central office, and at any branches (if applicable) or on the employees’ notice board for the information of the staff.