Have you experienced undesirable behaviour?

DO YOU NEED HELP? HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOUR? CONTACT PEOPLE THAT ARE PREPARED AND READY TO HELP YOU

Procedure for reporting undesirable behaviours including unequal treatment, discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment

There are two ways for reporting discrimination and unequal treatment at the University of Warsaw:

Informal resolution by the Team of the Academic Ombudsman

simplified proceedings in the case of reported conflicts (including those between students, doctoral students and employees), procedural and legal irregularities, unfair and unequal treatment
assistance in conflict resolution and mitigating its adverse effects
possibility of referring a case to mediation
action based on the principles of confidentiality, impartiality, independence and informality

The Ombudsman can be contacted in person, by email or by telephone.
It is necessary to arrange a meeting in advance by e-mail.

Address: Dobra 56/66 (1st floor, room No 1.60 C), 00 – 312 Warszawa
e-mail: ombudsman@uw.edu.pl
ph.: 22 55 27 214

Formal submitting a complaint about unequal treatment, discrimination (including harassment and sexual harassment), mobbing and other undesirable behaviours – submit a complaint

Formal submissions of complaints to the Anti-unequal treatment and discrimination Commission and the Anti-mobbing and other undesirable behaviours Commission are regulated by zarządzenia rektora UW nr 21 z 28 lutego 2024 roku w sprawie polityki przeciwdziałania dyskryminacji, mobbingowi i innym zachowaniom niepożądanym.

The ordinance describes step by step who is entitled to submit a complaint, how to file a complaint, how the proceedings are conducted and what are the consequences of confirming undesirable behaviour.

Who can submit a complaint:

any person directly affected by unequal treatment, discrimination (including harassment and sexual harassment) and other undesirable behaviour
a person working at the UW (under an employment contract and providing work/services under civil law contracts, regardless of the type of work and position held) directly affected by mobbing

Necessary conditions for filing a complaint:

personal reporting of the matter by the person directly affected by the event (anonymous reports will not be proceeded)
the event must concern an employee, Ph.D. student or student of the UW, on the premises of the University or be functionally related to the activities of the UW (former employees, Ph.D. students and students are not subject to the procedure)
the report should be submitted within 3 years of the event or the last of a series of events that are the subject of the report (in exceptionally justified situations, it will be possible to accept a report relating to events that occurred earlier).

Complaint:

submitted in paper or electronic form to the Team of Coordinators for counteracting unequal treatment, discrimination, mobbing and other undesirable behaviours (the Team consists of two coordinators).
coordinators ensure full confidentiality
the coordinator initially examines the complaint and immediately conducts an interview with the reporting person(s)
if the likelihood of the behaviour described in the complaint is confirmed, the case is referred to the appropriate Commission – the Unequal treatment and discrimination Commission or the Anti-mobbing and other undesirable behaviours Commission
the coordinator may also consider the report unjustified and leave it without further action – this decision may be appealed to the Chairman of the relevant Commission
in other cases, the coordinator may refer the reporting person, with his or her consent, to the appropriate university unit that can provide assistance in solving the problem

Proceedings:

information about the initiation of proceedings before the appropriate Commission is sent to the person reporting the case, to the person concerned and to his/her superior (from the moment the case is reported to the Commission, the proceedings cease to be confidential)
the purpose of the proceedings before the Commission is to express an opinion on the complaint and provide recommendations on further actions
the chairman of the relevant Commission, within 7 days from the date of receiving the complaint from the Coordinator, appoints a three-person Opinion Team from among the Commission to clarify the matter
the person reporting the case and the person against whom the complaint was submitted have the right of access to all documents necessary to clarify the case, including the content of the complaint and other documents
the proceedings conducted by the Review Team should be completed within four months (in justified circumstances, this deadline may be extended)

Remedial measures recommended by the Commission:

towards the perpetrator of unequal treatment, discrimination, mobbing or other undesirable behaviours, the Commission may recommend, e.g.: an obligatory participation in anti-discrimination or anti-mobbing training or workshops, an obligation to apologize, refer the case to a disciplinary spokesman, terminate an employment contract or civil-law contract
towards the injured person, the Commission may recommend in particular: psychological support, change of class group, examiner, supervisor or auxiliary supervisor, transfer within the University structures.

Consequences of the Commission issuing an opinion:

The opinion of the Commission, containing a written justification of the adopted position, is forwarded to the Rector and the head of the unit or other appropriate superior, as well as to the person initiating the proceedings and the person against whom the proceedings were pending.

If the Commission finds a case of unequal treatment, discrimination, including harassment, sexual harassment, mobbing or other undesirable behaviour, the Rector may decide to:

imposing a warning if the act constitutes a minor disciplinary offense and proving guilt does not require explanatory proceedings;
imposing a disciplinary penalty under the Labour Code;
instructing the disciplinary spokesman (respectively for employees who are academic teachers or for students and doctoral students) to conduct explanatory proceedings and, if there are grounds, to initiate a disciplinary procedure;
termination of the employment contract or the civil law contract;
application of the remedial measures recommended by the Commission.

The Rector, within one month of receiving the Commission’s position, informs in writing the relevant Commission and the Coordinator, as well as the reporting person, the person whom the report concerns and the superior or head of the relevant organizational unit about any further actions taken in the case.

Submitting a formal complaint>>

Contact details:

The Team of Coordinators for counteracting unequal treatment, discrimination, mobbing and other undesirable behaviours

Anna Grędzińska – (unequal tretment, discrimination including harassemnt and sexual harassemnt)

Magdalena Miksa (mobbing and other undesirable behaviours)

Address: Dobra 56/66 (1st floor, room No 1.60)

00 – 312 Warszawa
e-mail: zespolkoordynatorow@uw.edu.pl

You can always contact the following people:

The Ombudsman >> ombudsman.uw.edu.pl
The Team of Coordinators for counteracting unequal treatment, discrimination, mobbing and other undesirable behaviours>> zespolkoordynatorow@uw.edu.pl
Equality Team at the University of Warsaw >> rownouprawnienie@uw.edu.pl