1. Guiding principles

• Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation provides that harassment shall be deemed to be a form of discrimination where an unwanted conduct takes place with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, degrading or offensive environment;
• Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 5, 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast).

     Harassment and sexual harassment are contrary to the principle of equal treatment between men and women and constitute discrimination on grounds of sex. In this context, AGIFER and those responsible for vocational training must be encouraged to take action to combat all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex and, in particular, to take preventive measures against harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace and in access to employment, training and promotion, in accordance with national law and practice.

• Law No. 202/2002 on equal opportunities and equal treatment between women and men, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Law No 53/2003 - Labor Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Law No 286/2009 on the Criminal Code, as amended and supplemented;
• Government Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 on the Administrative Code, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Government Decision no. 262/2019 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the application of Law no. 202/2002 on equal opportunities and equal treatment between women and men.

• GEO no. 33/2015 for the amendment and completion of some normative acts in the railway sector;
• Decision No. 716/2015 on the organization and functioning of the Romanian Railway Investigation Agency - AGIFER and for amending and supplementing Government Decision No. 21/2015 on the organization and functioning of the Ministry of Transport, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Operating Regulation of the Romanian Railway Investigation Agency - AGIFER, edition in force;
• Code of Ethics of AGIFER.

3. Purpose/Objectives

       The purpose of the guide is to provide AGIFER employees with the necessary tools to fully exercise their individual rights and freedoms in the working environment.The main objective of the tool is to ensure an optimal working environment, based on equal respect for the dignity of the human being, and to provide all employees, regardless of gender, with the necessary conditions for a climate in which trust, empathy, understanding, professionalism, dedication to the general interest prevail.

4. Applicability

       The provisions of the guidelines apply to all AGIFER employees and to persons with whom they interact during working hours.Harassment can occur both between people of different sexes and between people of the same sex. In situations where actions take place that are contrary to legal, ethical and professional conduct in the workplace and are unwanted or unwelcome by the recipient, the measures set out in the guidelines will be ordered. Harassment is a manifestation of power relationships and can also occur in unequal workplace relationships, for example, between management and employees, but not exclusively.    Power relations can take many forms and can manifest themselves subtly and unpredictably (employees in subordinate positions are not always only victims). Harassment of any kind is prohibited, both in and outside the workplace, in relation to attendance at various events, business trips, training sessions or conferences, including in relation to the beneficiaries of the institution.

5. Definitions

5.1 Definition of harassment

Harassment is unwanted behavior, including behavior of a sexual nature, which makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated. It includes situations in which a person is required to engage in sexual activity as a condition of that person's employment, as well as situations that create a hostile, intimidating or humiliating environment. Harassment involves several incidents and/or actions of a repetitive nature that constitute physical, verbal and non-verbal harassment.

5.2 Examples of bullying

• Physical conduct - unwanted, repeated physical contact (inappropriate touching of the body), physical violence (including sexual assault), use of job-related threats or rewards to solicit sexual favors.
• Verbal conduct: Comments about an employee's appearance, age, or private life, sexual comments, sexual stories and jokes, sexual advances, repeated and unwelcome social invitations for dating or physical intimacy, insults related to an employee's gender or other characteristics, overly familiar remarks, sending humiliating, degrading, sexually explicit messages by telephone, e-mail or any other means of communication, if made systematically/repeatedly and if intended to, resulting in, or likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual harm.
• Nonverbal behavior: display of sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials; sexually suggestive gestures, whistling, leering, if done systematically/repeatedly.

    Moral harassment in the workplace, within the meaning of Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions:Any conduct exercised towards an employee by another employee who is his/her hierarchical superior, by a subordinate and/or by a hierarchically comparable employee, in connection with the employment relationship, which has the purpose or effect of deteriorating working conditions by harming.The rights or dignity of the employee, by adversely affecting the employee's physical or mental health or by jeopardizing the employee's future employment, such conduct manifesting itself in any of the following forms:

• hostile or unwelcome conduct;
• verbal comments;
• actions or gestures.

5.3. Any conduct which, by its systematic nature, is likely to harm the dignity, physical or mental integrity of an employee or group of employees, jeopardizing their work or degrading the working climate.

5.4. Other examples:

• Manifestation or dissemination of offensive or indecent material;
• obscene or sexist/racist/homophobic insinuations, insults or remarks made in a systematic/repeated manner;
• the use of offensive language in describing or mocking a person with a disability;
• comments about a person's physical appearance or character which are likely to cause embarrassment or distress;
• Unwanted attention, such as spying, constant stalking, teasing, overly familiar behavior or unwanted verbal or physical attention;
• repeatedly making or sending: unwanted phone calls, text messages, e-mails, e-mails, social networking messages, faxes or letters that are sexually suggestive, hostile or invasive of a person's privacy;
• unwarranted, unwelcome or persistent questions about a person's age, marital status, personal life, interests or sexual orientation or similar questions about a person's racial or ethnic origin, including a person's culture or religion;
• unwelcome sexual advances, repeated requests for a date or threats;
• suggestions that sexual favors may get a person promoted or that if they do not grant them, then their career will suffer.

5.5. Examples of attitudes that are legitimate in the relationship with the employee, being the prerogative of the institution, and do not constitute harassment:

• Directly supervises employees, including setting performance expectations and providing feedback on job performance;
• takes steps to correct performance deficiencies, such as placing an employee on a performance improvement plan;
• Takes reasonable disciplinary action;
• Gives directives related to duties, how and when work should be done;
• Requests updates or reports;
• approves or denies requests for time off.

6. Roles and responsibilities

6.1 The Head of AGIFER:

• ensures that the provisions of the guidelines are brought to the attention of employees through the specialized structures;
• ensures that all employees are involved in eliminating situations of gender-based harassment and bullying in the workplace, by creating a pragmatic approach to dealing with this type of situation;
• censure that all necessary levers are put in place to ensure that all situations of misconduct are reported and dealt with, without relying solely on formal or informal complaints by employees;
• ensure that incidents alleging harassment are investigated with the utmost seriousness and reported in accordance with applicable legal requirements;
• the Director General shall designate by administrative act a person responsible for receiving and dealing with complaints/complaints, hereinafter referred to as the Committee;
• ensure that employees are made aware that they will be listened to in the situations they report, that they are under no constraint of any kind as to the facts they communicate, and that the situations they report are confidential and are examined with due care
• ensure the establishment of a register of cases in which complaints/complaints will be registered; the register will contain the registration number, the phase of the harassment, the solutions identified;
• initiate all necessary actions to ensure that all employees found guilty of confirmed cases of harassment are sanctioned in accordance with the legal provisions and ensure all necessary measures to protect the victim.

6.2 Person responsible for receiving and dealing with cases of harassment

      The person responsible for receiving and dealing with cases of harassment shall be appointed by administrative act of the Director-General of AGIFER.When appointing the person responsible for receiving and dealing with cases of harassment, the person responsible shall sign a confidentiality agreement, subject to the provisions of Article 26(2) and (3) of the Regulation. (2) and Article 39 para. (2) lit. f) of Law no. 53/2003 - Labor Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, in conjunction with the provisions of Art. (1) of Law no. 286/2009 on the Criminal Code, as subsequently amended and supplemented.

When appointing the person responsible for receiving and dealing with cases of harassment, account shall be taken of:

• the ethical and professional conduct of the person appointed to investigate the case of harassment;
• may not investigate the person directly or indirectly involved in the reported events;
• cannot investigate the head of the institution;
• the need to include a person with relevant expertise in the field, i.e. equal opportunities expert/technician;
• the possibility of an external expert.

 In addition, the person responsible for receiving and dealing with cases of harassment will have the following tasks:

• receiving and registering complaints/complaints in the special register;
• convening the investigation
• drawing up and drafting the minutes;
• ensure that any employee is informed of the policies and legislation in force;
• provides support and counseling for employees affected by a harassment incident, the situations exposed are confidential and analyzed with due care;
• participates directly in the resolution of complaints made by employees in relation to situations of misconduct, whether these complaints are formal or informal;
• report to the Head of the institution all instances of harassment brought to his/her attention;
• Cooperate with employees in all situations where they are asked to provide information relevant to the resolution of a harassment case;     
• manages the processes for resolving complaints and/or disciplinary actions in conjunction with the institution's management;
• keep the documents produced/managed, both electronically and on paper.

7. Complaint/notification and settlement procedure

AGIFER's complaint and redress procedures are administrative in nature.

     If a victim is unable to approach an alleged harasser directly, he/she will approach the alleged harasser's hierarchical superior about the unwanted and disturbing behavior. S/he will also communicate to another AGIFER management representative/employee representative. In this context, the above-mentioned persons will ensure that the victim is properly informed, so that the informal choice of resolution does not preclude the possibility that the victim may also wish to seek a formal resolution if the harassment continues.

• record the complaint/complaint and relevant information in the register;
• ensure that the victim understands the procedures for dealing with the complaint/complaint;
• keep a confidential record of all discussions;
• respect the victim's choice;
• ensure that the victim is aware that he/she can also lodge a complaint/ complaint to other institutions that have competence in the field of harassment.

The complaint/notification can be formulated by the injured person in written form (holographic or electronic, but must be signed by the victim, respecting the protection of identity data, in order to ensure its protection) or verbally (discussion with the responsible person, after which a report will be drawn up).

Step 2 - Case report

The designated person who received the complaint/notification will start the creation of a case report, which will include:

1. The data in the complaint

 All relevant information provided in the complaint will be recorded immediately: dates, times and facts of the incident(s).

2. Data resulting from the process of guidance and counseling of the victim

The notified responsible person must:

• to communicate to the victim the possibilities of resolution and to analyze his requests and to clarify the victim's opinions regarding the desired result and to record the decision taken;
• refer her to psychological and legal counseling and record the proposed and agreed measure;
• to ensure that a confidential register is kept about the conduct of the investigation.

3. Data resulting from the hearing and counseling process of the person alleged to have committed acts of harassment

The notified responsible person must:

• to give the alleged harasser the opportunity to respond to the complaint;
• to ensure that the alleged harasser understands the complaint mechanism;
• to inform the alleged harasser about the institution's policy in the case of harassment, sexual harassment, but also about the national legislation in the field;
• to inform the alleged harasser about the possible sanctions;
• to facilitate, if necessary and only after the prior consent of the victim, the discussions between the two parties;
• to ensure that a confidential register is kept about the conduct of the investigation.

Step 3 - Investigate

• to interview the victim and the accused person separately;
• to interview other relevant third parties separately;
• to draw up a report of the investigation, which includes the notification, the investigations, the findings and the measures ordered;
• if the facts took place, to propose ways to resolve the complaint, taking into account what is the right solution for the victim, through consultation with the victim;
• if he cannot determine whether the facts took place or not, to make recommendations to ensure that the work climate is not affected, respectively: information, awareness, support groups;
• to keep a record of all actions taken;
• to ensure the confidentiality of all records related to the investigated case;
• to ensure that the process of resolving the complaint/notification is carried out at the latest within 45 working days from the date on which the complaint/notification was made.

7.3 Resolution of the complaint/report

The settlement of the complaint/notice represents the final stage of the procedure, in which the responsible person draws up a final report detailing the investigations, findings and proposed measures, as appropriate, and which he will submit to the management of the institution.

7.4 Complaint/External Reporting

• An employee who has been subjected to harassment can also make a complaint to other institutions that have competence in the field of harassment.
• These complaints can be made according to the provisions of Law no. 202/2002, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, at:
• the territorial labor inspectorate;
• National Council for Combating Discrimination;
• courts of law;
• the criminal investigation bodies, if the harassment is so serious that it falls within the forms provided by the Criminal Code.

8. Sanctions

• Any person who, following the completion of the complaint/referral procedure, was found guilty of harassment, may be subject to the sanctions provided for by:
• Law no. 53/2003 - Labor Code, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Law no. 286/2009 regarding the Criminal Code, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Government emergency ordinance no. 57/2019 on the Administrative Code, with subsequent amendments and additions;
• Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 on the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions.
• The nature of the sanctions will depend on the severity and extent of the acts of harassment. Proportionate sanctions will be applied to ensure that incidents of harassment are not treated as normal/tolerable behaviour.
•  The sanctions applicable to AGIFER can be found in Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 regarding the prevention and sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, as well as in Law no. 202/2002 regarding equal opportunities and treatment between women and men, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, and is applied proportionally to the gravity of the facts.

9. Monitoring and evaluation

    AGIFER knows the importance of monitoring this guide on preventing and combating harassment based on sex, as well as moral harassment at the workplace, and will ensure its application within 6 months of its entry into force. The heads of the departments, services, departments and those responsible for the management of harassment cases will monitor and report to the institution's management the manner of compliance with the provisions of this guide, by the end of the first quarter of each year, for the previous year, including the number of recorded incidents and the manner in which that they were solved, as well as the recommendations drawn.