,ENG1503 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 1 2025 (769162) - DUE 24 March 2025; 100%
correct solutions and explanations.
Read the text below and answer the following questions in short
paragraphs of not more than 150 words each. Do not quote
directly from the text unless you are instructed to do so. New
case deals with bullying in the workplace in South Africa Staff
Writer 1. Bullying is a word synonymous with the type of
conduct expected in school playgrounds. It is not a word that is
usually associated with the workplace, notes Sibusiso Dube,
partner at Bowmans South Africa. However, bullying in the
workplace is prevalent such that the new Code of Good Practice
on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the
Workplace (Code), which took effect on 18 March 2022, has
placed a positive duty on employers to play their part in
preventing bullying in the workplace, Dube said. 2. In terms of
the code, Bowmans sated that bullying involves the abuse of
coercive power by an individual or group of individuals in the
workplace and may involve aggressive behaviour in which
someone repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort.
Bullying includes a wide range of insulting, demeaning or
intimidating behaviour that lowers the self-esteem or self-
confidence of an employee and may be an escalating process in
the course of employment in which the complainant ends up in
an inferior position and becomes the target of systematic
negative social acts. Verbal bullying may include threats,
shaming, hostile teasing, insults, constant negative judgment and
criticism, or racist, sexist or LGBTQIA+ phobic language,” said
, Dube. 3. In South Africa, all forms of harassment related to one
or more of the listed grounds set out in section 6(1) of the
Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA) or any other ‘arbitrary
ground’, are regarded as unfair discrimination. Harassment
constitutes a barrier to equity and equality in the workplace. As
such, harassment, including bullying, must be eliminated from
the workplace and in any activity linked to, or arising out of
work, the legal expert said. “The code describes harassment,
among others, as unwanted conduct which impairs dignity, and
which creates a hostile or intimidating work environment for
one or more employees. A hostile work environment will be
present where conduct has a negative impact on the employee’s
ability to work and/or on their personal well-being. “Whether an
employee has been a victim of bullying will depend on the
impact of the alleged bullying on the employee. The test is
subjective, however, there may be circumstances where
employees believe they are being bullied and this perception is
not consistent with the views of a ‘reasonable person’ in the
situation of the complainant.” ENG1503/Assignment
01/S1/2025 4. The code highlights that employers are under an
obligation in terms of section 60 of the EEA to take proactive
and remedial steps to prevent all forms of harassment in the
workplace, Dube said. “This includes conducting an assessment
of the risk of harassment to employees; creating and maintaining
a working environment in which the dignity of employees is
respected; adopting and implementing an appropriate policy
addressing harassment in the workplace; conducting training to
educate employees about the various forms of harassment;
implementing ongoing awareness initiatives and programmes;
Semester 1 2025 (769162) - DUE 24 March 2025; 100%
correct solutions and explanations.
Read the text below and answer the following questions in short
paragraphs of not more than 150 words each. Do not quote
directly from the text unless you are instructed to do so. New
case deals with bullying in the workplace in South Africa Staff
Writer 1. Bullying is a word synonymous with the type of
conduct expected in school playgrounds. It is not a word that is
usually associated with the workplace, notes Sibusiso Dube,
partner at Bowmans South Africa. However, bullying in the
workplace is prevalent such that the new Code of Good Practice
on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the
Workplace (Code), which took effect on 18 March 2022, has
placed a positive duty on employers to play their part in
preventing bullying in the workplace, Dube said. 2. In terms of
the code, Bowmans sated that bullying involves the abuse of
coercive power by an individual or group of individuals in the
workplace and may involve aggressive behaviour in which
someone repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort.
Bullying includes a wide range of insulting, demeaning or
intimidating behaviour that lowers the self-esteem or self-
confidence of an employee and may be an escalating process in
the course of employment in which the complainant ends up in
an inferior position and becomes the target of systematic
negative social acts. Verbal bullying may include threats,
shaming, hostile teasing, insults, constant negative judgment and
criticism, or racist, sexist or LGBTQIA+ phobic language,” said
, Dube. 3. In South Africa, all forms of harassment related to one
or more of the listed grounds set out in section 6(1) of the
Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA) or any other ‘arbitrary
ground’, are regarded as unfair discrimination. Harassment
constitutes a barrier to equity and equality in the workplace. As
such, harassment, including bullying, must be eliminated from
the workplace and in any activity linked to, or arising out of
work, the legal expert said. “The code describes harassment,
among others, as unwanted conduct which impairs dignity, and
which creates a hostile or intimidating work environment for
one or more employees. A hostile work environment will be
present where conduct has a negative impact on the employee’s
ability to work and/or on their personal well-being. “Whether an
employee has been a victim of bullying will depend on the
impact of the alleged bullying on the employee. The test is
subjective, however, there may be circumstances where
employees believe they are being bullied and this perception is
not consistent with the views of a ‘reasonable person’ in the
situation of the complainant.” ENG1503/Assignment
01/S1/2025 4. The code highlights that employers are under an
obligation in terms of section 60 of the EEA to take proactive
and remedial steps to prevent all forms of harassment in the
workplace, Dube said. “This includes conducting an assessment
of the risk of harassment to employees; creating and maintaining
a working environment in which the dignity of employees is
respected; adopting and implementing an appropriate policy
addressing harassment in the workplace; conducting training to
educate employees about the various forms of harassment;
implementing ongoing awareness initiatives and programmes;
