Third Party Harassment Policy

POLICY BRIEF & PURPOSE

Our third-party harassment policy aims to address employee harassment coming from people outside of our company. We will not tolerate this kind of behavior, even if it means having difficult conversations with partners or losing business. Ensuring our employees are safe in our workplace is our first priority.

Third party abuse or harassment can have a severe impact on staff and can lead to feelings of anxiety or fear in the workplace, as well as undermine an individual’s self-confidence. This in turn can lead to a wide range of issues including physical and/or mental health problems, and in some cases result in voluntary exits.

In this policy, we indicate how to recognize harassment and how to report incidents. We also explain how we investigate claims and protect victims.

SCOPE

This policy applies to everyone outside our company including vendors, investors, customers, contractors, shareholders, and any other people we are connected to or do business with.

We aim to protect every employee, intern, or volunteer regardless of level, function, seniority, status, or protected characteristics like race, gender, and sexual orientation.

For a more detailed explanation of our stance towards harassment, please refer to our Workplace Harassment Policy and our Sexual Harassment Policy.

POLICY ELEMENTS

Harassment is any kind of behavior that humiliates, victimizes, or threatens a person, such as directing racial slurs or making sexual advances. Even seemingly harmless actions, like a customer calling an employee constantly outside work for non-emergencies and without prior agreement, can constitute harassment. Innuendos, veiled threats, and inappropriate or offensive jokes are all included in our definition.

Harassment can happen in person, over the phone, via email, or through a messaging app. It can come from strangers or people you know. Anyone who objectifies, threatens, or ridicules our employees is a harasser.

ZERO-TOLERANCE

All our employees have the right to work in a safe environment where they are protected from abuse or harassment. We have a zero-tolerance approach to any incident involving harassment or abuse against our employees. Any form of abuse is unacceptable, and Boomitra is committed to taking the strongest possible action to tackle any incidents and protect employees. In line with the Employee Code of Conduct, Boomitra is responsible for ensuring that the working environment for employees is one in which everyone is treated with respect, and any abuse or harassment by third parties is not tolerated.

Third parties that enter our workplace or work with us remotely through any communication media — phone, video conference, social media, SMS, messaging services, email, etc. — should be aware of the consequences of harassment. Every incident of harassment that is reported will be documented, and action will be taken against the perpetrator.

WHAT CONSTITUTES HARASSMENT?

This policy covers any kind of unwanted behavior from third parties that humiliates, victimizes, or threatens any of our employees. It broadly covers the following, but is not limited to:

• Verbal and physical abuse
• Racial slurs
• Sexual advances
• Violence or threat of violence
• Facial expressions or mimicry
• Discrimination
• Bullying
• Harassment
• Imagery or graffiti
• Jokes or banter
• Acts affecting a person’s surroundings
• Physical behavior towards a person or their property

Abuse or harassment can take place online, face to face, or over the phone. This list is not exhaustive. Abuse or harassment by a third party can be just as devastating for a worker as incidents perpetrated by a colleague.

ENSURING SAFETY, PROTECTION AND WELFARE

We will ensure the safety, protection, and welfare of our employees at all times by:

• Reducing the risk of harassment or abuse of employees.
• Making sure arrangements are in place to assess the risk of harassment or abuse against our employees.
• Taking appropriate action against the third party who perpetrated the harassment or abuse.
• Providing appropriate training and information for our employees.
• Making sure our management standards are applied consistently.
• Making sure employees are aware of their responsibilities.
• Providing appropriate support to employees following an abusive or harassment incident.
• Maintaining robust recording and management systems for all abuse or harassment incidents.
• Making sure employees who have experienced or witnessed incidents feel able to report them and have the matter treated seriously and dealt with effectively.

HARASSMENT FROM CUSTOMERS, PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS, VENDORS, AND CONTRACTORS

Harassment from customers

Harassment coming from customers is often difficult to deal with. Employees might be reluctant to report customers, especially those who are responsible for substantial revenue. This causes the customer’s behavior to go unpunished and continue.

Please do not hesitate to report a customer (or a customer’s employee) even if they behave inappropriately and make your working life difficult. Reporting them means that they will not harass you anymore and that we will also have the chance to protect other employees who would come into contact with the harasser.

Report the customer to HR via email or in person and inform your manager of your report. If you have emails or other evidence, please attach them or bring them to HR’s office.

HR will investigate your claim and contact the customer to ask them to change their behavior. If the customer is a business, HR will:

• Contact that business’ HR department and file a complaint against the person who harassed you.
• Explicitly ask for that behavior to stop.
• Ask the customer company to assign another person as your contact. We will push for this solution in three cases:
  • If the harassment from that person has happened before to you or your colleagues.
  • If the incident of harassment was severe (such as a threat of violence or an explicit request for a sexual favor).
  • If you inform HR that you do not feel comfortable working with this person anymore.

We will also discuss possible solutions on our end. For example, we may remove you from that person’s customer account and assign you to an account of equal worth. If you needed to interact with that person in specific cases, we may assign another employee to fill in for you at those times. We will not penalize you or retaliate against you in any way. Your working hours, salary, or other benefits will not be affected.

If the customer company ignores our report, or if the incident of harassment happens again and the customer seems unwilling to address the person responsible, we will dissolve our contract with that customer.

If the customer is an individual, we will refuse our products or services until they correct their behavior.

Harassment from prospective customers

Salespeople and marketers interact with prospects every day. If any of these prospects harasses you:

• Drop all interactions with them (such as answering calls and sending emails) and report this to your manager. If someone harassed you via email, forward those emails to your manager and our HR department for reference.
• Leave immediately if someone harasses you at an on-site meeting. Call your manager as soon as possible to let them know.

Your manager will make sure that your performance metrics are not affected due to a prospect’s inappropriate behavior. For example, you do not have to continue speaking to a harasser in order to hit your individual targets. If a prospect’s behavior negatively affects your goals (such as revenue targets), talk to your manager. They will do everything possible to resolve the issue, such as assigning you to other prospects or adjusting your daily or weekly targets to account for the missed opportunity.

After speaking to your manager, please mark that prospect as unqualified in your CRM system so other employees will not attempt to contact them later. This will help prevent other employees from being exposed to the prospect’s behavior.

Harassment from vendors and contractors

Our harassment and anti-violence policies apply to our vendors and contractors. We will communicate them in writing whenever we sign a contract with another business.

If an employee of the vendor or contractor harasses you, please report directly to HR. Our HR will:

• Report the person who harassed you to the vendor’s HR department.
• Demand that either this person stops the inappropriate behavior immediately or the vendor assigns a different employee to that position, depending on the severity of the harassment.

If the harassment continues after our intervention, or if our vendor ignores our report, we will dissolve our contract with that vendor.

INVOLVING THE POLICE

Our company will involve the police if a harasser stalks, assaults, or verbally or physically threatens an employee. This applies to all possible third parties, from customers to investors. When harassers seem dangerous — for example, if a harasser refuses to leave the premises and threatens you with physical violence — call the police before reporting to HR.

MANAGER’S RESPONSIBILITIES

We have an open-door policy and we encourage our employees to share their concerns and thoughts with us. However, sometimes employees may not feel comfortable reporting harassment, whether it has happened to them or a colleague. This is why we expect managers to always be alert and ready to spot harassment towards their team members.

If you suspect one of your team members is being harassed, talk to them to get more information. Assure them that they will not be penalized for reporting harassment from any source and that our company is committed to protecting them from harassment.

Inform HR of your conversation and act immediately to protect your team members, such as assigning someone else to interact with the person who harassed them until HR’s investigation is complete. Managers must also make sure their team members’ performance metrics are not affected.

HR RESPONSIBILITIES

When HR receives a report about third-party harassment, they must:

• Ask for as many details and as much information as possible from the person making the complaint.
• Keep copies of the report with dates, times, and details of incidents and any possible evidence in a confidential file. HR should update this file with all future actions and conversations regarding the complaint.
• Launch an investigation.
• Maintain professionalism when communicating with third parties, while also making clear that the matter is taken seriously and that protecting our employees is the priority.
• Inform the harassed employee of our company’s procedures and provide legal advice if appropriate.
• Take into account the wishes of the harassed employee. If an employee says they do not want to interact with a harasser again, HR should consult with that employee’s manager to find a solution that does not penalize the employee.

HR and managers must not, under any circumstances, blame the victim, conceal a report, or discourage employees from reporting harassment. If HR or a manager behaves that way, please send an email to their own manager or a senior leader explaining the situation.

We welcome any feedback or complaints about our procedures and how our employees handled each case.

HELPING HARASSMENT VICTIMS

Apart from investigating claims and holding perpetrators accountable, we want to support the victims of harassment. If you experience trauma, stress, or other symptoms because of harassment, consider:

• Taking a few days of sick leave to restore your mental health.
• Asking HR to check if medical insurance covers mental health services.
• Talking to our EAP (Employee Assistance Program) Officer to evaluate options.
• Speaking to our designated counselors.

Your job and benefits will not be jeopardized or altered if you choose any of those options or other means to recovery.

SPEAK UP, WE LISTEN

Harassment can exhaust those who endure it. Speaking up about this issue is often tough for fear of not being heard, upsetting managers, and challenging corporate culture.

Please do not let these fears deter you. Boomitra will do everything possible to stop harassment of any kind from happening, while supporting those affected. We need to know what is going on so we can act on it. By raising your voice on this issue, you help our company create a happy workplace and thrive.

HELP US KEEP OUR WORKPLACE SAFE

We all work best in environments where we feel safe and happy. We cannot control the behavior of people outside of our organization, but we can act to stop it. Please let us know whenever you are being harassed or witness others being the victims of harassment, whether the perpetrator is a customer, an employee, or a partner.