POLICY FOR THE PREVENTION AND COMBAT OF VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT AT WORK AND MANAGEMENT OF INTERNAL COMPLAINTS FOR VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT INCIDENTS OF THE COMPANY “ZIKO S.A. – PRODUCTION – PACKAGING – TRADE – OF FERTILIZERS AND TRACE ELEMENTS” (ZIKO S.A.)
ZIKO S.A., demonstrating zero tolerance for incidents of violence and harassment in the workplace, adopts this policy, in compliance with articles 9 and 10 of law 4808/2021, which ratified the International Labor Convention 190/21.06.2021 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work, the text of which was annexed in its entirety to the text of the law.
1. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to create and establish a work environment that respects, promotes and ensures the human dignity and the right of every person to a world of work free from discrimination, violence and harassment. ZIKO S.A. declares that it recognizes, respects and protects the right of every employee to a work environment free from violence and harassment and that it does not tolerate any such behavior, of any form, by any person.
2. Scope of application – Covered Persons
This policy covers the persons of par. 1 of art. 3 of law 4808/2021 and its scope of application and protection includes all types of workers and employees of ZIKO S.A., regardless of their contractual status, including those employed under a work contract, independent services, paid mandate, those employed through third-party service providers, individuals undergoing training, including interns and apprentices, volunteers, individuals whose employment relationship has ended, individuals applying for employment and other individuals who do business or collaborate with it.
3. Prohibited forms of conduct – Definitions
Violence and harassment. “Violence and harassment” means forms of conduct, acts, practices or threats thereof, which aim to, result in or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm, whether occurring individually or repeatedly,
Harassment. “Harassment” means forms of conduct, which aim to or result in the violation of a person’s dignity and the creation of an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, regardless of whether they constitute a form of discrimination, and includes harassment based on gender or other grounds of discrimination,
Harassment based on gender. “Gender-based harassment” means forms of behavior related to a person’s gender, which have as their purpose or effect the violation of the dignity of that person and the creation of an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or aggressive environment according to article 2 of law 3896/2010 (A’ 107) and par. 2 of article 2 of law 4443/2016 (A’ 232). These forms of behavior also include sexual harassment of law 3896/2010, as well as forms of behavior related to the sexual orientation, expression, identity or gender characteristics of the person.
Discrimination. “Discrimination” means the different treatment of people resulting from prejudices or interests, any act by which individuals are unjustifiably separated based on the groups, classes or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. For example, discrimination based on gender, age, language, nationality, race or ethnicity, disability, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.
Incidents. The forms of behavior prohibited by this policy include, but are not limited to: Insulting due to discrimination based on gender, race, religion, appearance, sexual orientation, disability, age, or other personal characteristics and choices, threats, verbal or physical, insults in public or in private, belittling or ridiculing a person or their abilities, either in private or in front of third parties, threatened or actual physical violence, and persistent or unjustified criticism. Abusive, malicious, derogatory, obscene or mocking comments and their dissemination, innuendo, sexist or racist “jokes” and comments, the use of offensive language, verbal sexual harassment or suggestions, the implication that someone’s sexual advances can advance their career or that refusing to engage in a sexual relationship may negatively affect their career path at the Company, the offering of benefits (e.g. promotion or salary increase) in exchange for sexual advances or the creation of an environment that promotes “sexual contact” as a means for professional development in the workplace, retaliation or threat of retaliation after rejecting sexual advances. Cyberbullying, sending messages with harassing and offensive content via SMS, e-mail, social media, fax or letter, persistent and/or offensive questions without legitimate reason or cause about age, marital status, personal life, sexual orientation, as well as similar questions about race or ethnicity, including cultural identity and religion. Also included are visual forms of harassment such as posters, cartoons, caricatures, photographs or drawings that are derogatory based on characteristics protected by law. Unwanted physical contact such as touching, pinching, gestures of a sexual nature, hitting, grabbing, pushing as well as all kinds of physical violence. Violation of privacy, intentional partial or total destruction of personal belongings, vehicles or assets, interference or obstruction of the normal work, movement and physical integrity of the individual, physical exclusion or confinement, sexual gestures, physical surveillance, stalking. The above acts are indicative and do not constitute an exclusive list of prohibited acts.
Fair Behaviors. The following behaviors do not constitute incidents of violence and harassment. Direct supervision of employees, including setting performance expectations. Taking measures to correct performance, such as placing an employee on a performance improvement plan. Assigning tasks and providing guidance on how and when they should be done. Requesting updates or progress reports. Approving or justifying denial of leave. Requesting documentation of absence for health reasons based on applicable legal provisions. Rewarding an employee for excellent performance, both morally and financially. Providing constructive feedback on work performance.
4. Scope of Application – Definition of the Workplace
4.a. Workplace is understood as a broader spatial context in which incidents of violence and harassment can take place. The above forms of behavior can take place in all the company’s facilities nationwide, in which employees provide their services, as well as in those areas where employees receive their pay, take a break for rest or food, in personal hygiene and care areas, changing rooms or accommodation provided by the company to the staff. Furthermore, this policy also covers all types of travel to and from work, other travel, travel, conferences, training, as well as social events and activities related to work or connected to the company’s actions. Finally, it also applies to all types of communications related to the company, including those carried out through information and communication technologies (e.g. e-mails, zoom or teams meetings, social media, etc.).
4.b. Domestic violence – All acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that take place within the family or home, regardless of biological or legal family ties, or between former or current spouses or partners and regardless of whether the perpetrator shares or has previously shared the same residence with the victim. Domestic violence that takes place in the workplace, for example through physical violence, sexual harassment and stalking by current or former partners, is a serious form of violence in the workplace. Acts of domestic violence, including stalking/monitoring, can also be committed by people in the same work environment, with whom they have (or had in the past) close relationships. Domestic violence, in any of the above forms, inflicted on the employee during teleworking.
5. Assessment of the risks of violence and harassment at work
5.a. Assessment of risk factors and their improvement.
ZIKO S.A. carries out studies in collaboration with all its departments regarding the possible risk factors depending on the nature and scope of the work provided, the psychosocial risks, including the risks of violence and harassment at work, with the aim of evaluating the existing working conditions and adapting them in a way that limits as much as possible the chances of an incident of violence and harassment occurring in the workplace.
Examples of risk situations include: high stress in the workplace, isolated or enclosed workplaces, job allocation, facility security and control, lack of appropriate training, individuals with a history of violent behavior, delivery of goods or services, working alone or in an isolated area, working late at night or during the morning hours, domestic or personal life issues that spill over into the workplace. 5.b. Organizing seminars, issuing information leaflets and regular training of staff on issues of violence and harassment.
All employees must understand that those behaviors that constitute violence and harassment are unacceptable and unacceptable. The designated violence and harassment focal point will ensure that staff receive appropriate awareness of violence and harassment issues and will publicize this policy within and outside the company.
6. Measures to Prevent Incidents of Violence and Harassment.
6.a. Information on the Rights of Affected Persons.
ZIKO S.A. declares that in the event that a person is affected by an incident of violence and harassment during access to employment, during the employment relationship or even if the contract or employment relationship in the context of which the incident or behavior allegedly occurred has expired, he or she has:
a) the right to judicial protection,
b) to appeal, submit a complaint and request for the conduct of a labor dispute to the Labor Inspectorate, within the framework of its legal responsibilities,
c) to report to the Ombudsman, within the framework of his or her legal responsibilities, as well as
d) to file a complaint within the company in accordance with the complaint management policy.
The individual procedures for submitting, managing and internally investigating reports include the detailed steps that any complainant must take, as well as the responsibilities of the bodies of ZIKO S.A. and the actions that they must take to ensure the effective management of relevant incidents. In any case, when a report or complaint of such behavior occurs within the company, the affected person retains every right to appeal to any competent authority. Any employee who is subjected to domestic violence, which also extends to the workplace, may report this fact in writing to his or her supervisor in order for the company to be informed and to take the appropriate and necessary measures.
6.b. Information, awareness-raising and staff support actions.
ZIKO S.A. hereby informs its staff and maintains in a visible place the details of the competent administrative authorities, to which any affected person has the right to appeal (Labor Inspectorate, Ombudsman), in particular it informs about the SEPE complaint hotline (15512) but also through the citizen service line 1555 and https://1555.gov.gr/, as well as about the direct psychological support and counseling service for women victims of gender-based violence who can contact the SOS Line 15900 (General Secretariat for Demographic and Family Policy and Gender Equality [GSDP].
ZIKO S.A., within the framework of its capabilities, takes every appropriate measure and makes every reasonable adjustment to working conditions to protect employment and support employees who are victims of domestic violence. It also takes all necessary measures to inform and raise awareness among staff, using the appropriate means, as appropriate, to combat violence and harassment, ensuring that everyone is aware of the company’s policy and procedures regarding incidents of violence and harassment, knows where to turn in the event of violence or harassment, as well as the options available to them by law.
ZIKO S.A. trains its executives in every appropriate way and means to recognize discrimination, violence and harassment at work and to provide the required support to its staff and associates. It also encourages the participation of employee representatives and management executives in training programs and educational seminars on the recognition and management of potential risks of violence and harassment, as well as holding seminars with mental health specialists or counseling service providers.
7. Procedure for Submitting and Managing Internal Complaints – Reporting Person
Any employee against whom any incident of violence and harassment has occurred may submit a written complaint to the competent Head of the Accounting Department, who is also designated as the “reporting person” for this policy. The complaint can be submitted in person or via email to the email address zikofertilizers@gmail.com. The complaint cannot be made anonymously.
The complaint should include the details of the person complained of, i.e. the person who engaged in a form of prohibited conduct, as well as specific incident(s) that substantiate it.
The reporting person thoroughly investigates each complaint and collects any necessary information regarding it. Complaints and investigations remain strictly confidential to the greatest extent possible, taking into account the sensitivity of the case and the confidentiality of all involved.
In particular, he may speak with the complainant and the person complained of, examine witnesses, request the production of any documents that may exist and which prove that any incident of violence and harassment took place or not, and communicate with the heads of each department, in case the complainant addressed them.
Once the reporting person completes his investigation, he submits a written report to the company’s Management, in which he states the result of the investigations. The results of the investigation are communicated simultaneously to both the complainant and the person complained against, so that they can become aware of them. The completion of the investigation and the submission and notification of the report person’s findings must take place as soon as possible and in any case no later than 3 weeks from the date of submission of the complaint by the complainant.
-In the event that an incident of discriminatory treatment, violence or harassment or retaliation is actually documented, the Company’s Management proceeds, on a case-by-case basis, to take all necessary, appropriate and proportionate measures against the person complained of.
These measures may include, but are not limited to:
a) the recommendation of compliance,
b) the change of the job position, hours, place and method of providing work,
c) the termination of the employment or cooperation contract with the company, without prejudice to the prohibition of abuse of rights under Article 281 of the Civil Code.
-Complaints that prove to be clearly malicious will be considered unacceptable and will be further investigated at the company’s discretion, both in terms of motives and those involved, in order to restore order by any legal means.
8. Rights of those affected
According to the current legislation, any person who experiences an incident of violence and harassment against him/her has the right to leave the workplace for a reasonable time, without loss of salary or other adverse consequences, if, in his/her reasonable belief, there is an imminent serious risk to his/her life, health or safety, in particular, when the employer is the perpetrator of such behavior or when he/she does not take the necessary and appropriate measures to restore peace at work, or when these measures are not sufficient to stop the behavior of violence and harassment.
In this case, the person leaving is obliged to inform the reporting person in writing in advance, stating the incident of violence and harassment and the circumstances that justify his belief that there is an imminent serious risk to his life, health or safety.
Employees who face incidents of violence and harassment at work have the right to appeal to the competent authorities, as defined by law (a. right to judicial protection, b. right to appeal and submit a complaint and request for a labor dispute to the Labor Inspectorate, within the framework of its statutory responsibilities, c. report to the Ombudsman, within the framework of his statutory responsibilities).
9. Obligation of impartiality and confidentiality
The reporting person is obliged to act in an objective and impartial manner during the complaint investigation process. Furthermore, he must behave with respect towards all parties involved and in a confidential and discreet manner. The publication or disclosure to non-involved parties of information relating to the complaint under consideration is completely prohibited.
The above obligations also apply to the company’s Management during the final stage of taking measures and decisions.
10. Prohibition of Retaliation – Victimization of the Complainant
Retaliation and victimization of the complainant, who, as an aggrieved person, claimed his rights and submitted a written complaint regarding an incident of violence and harassment, is prohibited. Retaliation and victimization of the complainant constitute a serious violation of this policy and will result in consequences for the person acting in this manner. If any employee or third party associated in any way with the company believes that they have been subjected to retaliatory behavior due to filing a complaint or providing assistance in the process of investigating incidents of discrimination, violence and/or harassment, they must follow the above procedure for reporting the said incident of retaliation.
11. Cooperation with administrative and judicial authorities
ZIKO S.A., as well as any competent person or service for the reception and management of such complaints at the corporate level, cooperate with any competent public, administrative or judicial authority, which, either ex officio or following a request from an affected person, within the framework of its competence, requests the provision of data or information and is committed to providing assistance and access to the data. To this end, any data they collect, in any form, are kept in a relevant file in compliance with the provisions of Law 4624/2019 (Government Gazette A’ 137) “Personal Data Protection Authority, implementing measures of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of data.”.
For more information regarding this policy, any interested person may contact the company’s reference person/contact.
This Policy is posted on the company’s official website at the following link: https://www.ziko.gr.
