Anti-Harassment Policy

Introduction

Everyone at Bramble has a responsibility to prevent and stop harassment. Working remotely means that the majority of our interactions are by video call or written communication, such as email or shared documents. The exceptions to this are team summits, attending conferences together, and local team meetups. No matter the method of communication, it is expected that everyone will contribute to an inclusive and collaborative working environment and respect each other at all times. Team member behavior is not limited to internal interactions with each other. Our Anti-harassment policy applies to Bramble team members interaction with customers, vendors and community members. Should you become aware of or witness any form of harassment or behavior that violates this policy or our company values, please report the incident directly to the Chief People Officer immediately for thorough investigation.

Perspective

Bramble is a North Carolina-based start-up that has grown into a global fully distributed team. We strive to ensure our team is fully aligned with Bramble’s no tolerance harassment policy despite their location. We want everyone to feel confident and comfortable communicating concerns. Bramble respects, appreciates, understands and supports every aspect of diversity. We aim to continuously foster a globally aware team.

Scope

This policy applies to all team members employed by any entity of Bramble, whether contractor or employee, in all locations. There are local labor laws in every country and in the case of the United States, state laws, that must be followed when handling, reporting and investigating incidents of harassment. The People Business Partner team and legal counsel, if required, in each of those countries will be called upon to ensure compliance and the appropriate legal processes and procedures are followed. <!–Specific country requirements for employees (subject to changes in employment law) are listed in the Country & US State-Specific Requirements section and will be updated regularly. –> All individual contributors, managers, and leaders will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination, for any act of harassment they commit.

Types of Harassment

The following are considered forms of harassment and will not be tolerated by Bramble:

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is considered unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that is sufficiently persistent or offensive enough to interfere with the receiver’s job performance or create an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

Sexual harassment encompasses a wide range of conduct. Examples of misconduct include, but may not be limited to, the following actions:

1. Physical assaults or the attempt to commit an assault of a sexual nature. This physical conduct can include touching, pinching, patting, grabbing, brushing against or poking another team member’s body.
2. Unwelcome sexual advances, propositions or other sexual comments, such as sexually oriented gestures, noises, remarks, jokes, or comments about a person’s sexuality or sexual experience.
3. Preferential treatment or promises of preferential treatment to a team member for submitting to sexual conduct, including soliciting or attempting to solicit any team member to engage in sexual activity for compensation or reward.
4. Subjecting, or threats of subjecting a team member to unwelcome sexual attention or conduct or intentionally making performance of the team member’s role more difficult because of that team member’s sex.
5. Creating displays, communications, or publications that include content of a sexually offensive nature.
6. Purposely misgendering people, such as consistently referring to someone as ‘he’ after repeated requests to use ‘she’ or vice versa.

Sexual harassment is considered a form of team member misconduct and sanctions will be enforced against individuals engaging in sexual harassment and against supervisory and managerial personnel who knowingly allow such behavior to continue. Any retaliation against an individual who complains of sexual harassment or who testifies or assists in any proceeding under the law is unlawful.

Discrimination

Any form of discrimination towards an individual is strictly prohibited. Types of discrimination include:

• Age
• Disability
• Race; including color, nationality, ethnicity, or national origin
• Religious belief or lack of religious belief
• Life expectancy
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
• Transgender status

If you believe you have been discriminated against or witnessed discriminatory practices, please contact the Chief People Officer, the Senior Director, People Success, or a People Business Partner to initiate an investigation into the behavior.

Bullying / Workplace Violence

Bramble does not tolerate violent acts or threats of violence. The company will not tolerate fighting, bullying, coercion, or use of abusive or threatening words directed to, about, or against a co-worker, lead, manager, executive, candidate, client/customer, vendor, contributor, or any other person. No individual employed by Bramble should commit or threaten to commit any violent act or discuss committing such offenses, even in a joking manner.

Retaliation

Retaliation of any sort for filing a claim of harassment will not be tolerated. If you believe you have been retaliated against, please contact the Chief People Officer, the Senior Director, People Success or a People Business Partner to initiate an investigation.

Speaking up during a public situation

If someone messes up, people are encouraged to speak up publicly and within the moment, in order to let that person and others know that what happened was not inclusive behavior.

This makes for a situation from which all parties can learn, and is one which promotes understanding. Additionally it makes it possible for that person to de-escalate the situation by correcting themselves and apologizing.

This does not ensure there will be no consequences. However, it will greatly reduce the chance of escalation and has the potential to help a situation become comfortable and inclusive again.

Reporting a Physical Threat

If a threat is made against you or someone else that makes you or another team member question their safety due to an issue, merge request, email or other work related matters do not hesitate to initiate the following process:

1. Contact local law enforcement. Note the proper number to contact in your locality and whether the emergency, or non-emergency number should be called.
2. Notify the People Operations team in #peopleops. A private channel may then be opened with your People Business Partner, People Operations Specialist, Executive Business Administrator, Manager, and the security team helping with the situation.
3. The following steps may be taken based on the threat:
   • Internal threat assessment
   • Temporary accommodation (friends, family, hotel, etc.)
   • Transportation to alternate location (stay with family/friends for example)
   • Time off from work/LOA
   • Personal Security Detail
4. The above can be triggered by the People Operations team, Manager, Executive Business Administrator, or People Business Partner based on their knowledge of the threat. Whenever it is safe to do so, please go through the normal permissions work flow, however if a threat is credible and potentially imminent, immediate action may be taken before the approvals have been put in place.
5. The Sr. Director of Security will advise when it is best to halt any of the above tasks.

Reporting Alleged Harassment

1. Any individual who believes they have been the target of harassment of any kind is encouraged to immediately and directly address the harasser, letting them know that their behavior is unwelcome, offensive, and must stop immediately.
2. If they do not wish to address the harasser directly or the behavior doesn’t cease, they should report the misconduct to the Chief People Officer.
3. Once reported, an impartial investigation will be conducted by a People Business Partner or by an independent third party, depending on the severity and circumstances of the complaint.
4. Individual(s) reporting an incident or pattern of behavior will be asked to provide a written account, including any action(s) causing concern, the dates and times such actions occurred, and the names of anyone involved, including the participants and witnesses. All complaints or concerns of alleged harassment or discrimination will be taken seriously and handled confidentially.

The Role of Managers

If managers become aware of misconduct, they must deal with any allegations expeditiously, seriously, confidentially, and fairly, whether or not there has been a written or formal complaint made to People Business partner. Informed managers are expected to:

1. Take all complaints or concerns of alleged harassment seriously no matter how minor or who is involved.
2. Ensure that any form of harassment or misconduct is immediately reported to People Business Partner.
3. Take appropriate action to prevent retaliation, or the alleged misconduct from recurring, during and after an investigation.

Managers who knowingly allow or tolerate any form of harassment or retaliation, including the failure to immediately report such misconduct to People Business Partner, are in violation of this policy and subject to disciplinary action, including termination.

The Role of Individual Contributors

All employees have the responsibility to help create and maintain a work environment free of bullying and harassment and can help by:

1. Being aware of how their own behavior may affect others, and changing it if necessary.
2. Treating their colleagues with dignity and respect.
3. Taking a stand if they think inappropriate jokes or comments are being made to others.
4. Making it clear to others where they find their behavior unacceptable.
5. Intervening, if possible, to stop harassment or bullying from occurring.
6. Reporting promptly to their manager or the People Business Partner any incident of bullying or harassment witnessed by them.

Classification of disciplinary action

All individual team members, managers, and leaders will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination, for any act of harassment they commit. Although disciplinary action will be specific to each case, it can generally be classified into 4 levels:

Level 1

First time occurrences of inappropriate behavior. An act out of character. After formal investigation, coworkers still feel comfortable working with the offender.

• Suspension (Paid/Unpaid based on country)
• Formal apology towards inflicted parties

Level 2

Recurring socially inappropriate behavior.

• Suspension (Paid/Unpaid based on country)
• Mandatory course on Inclusivity
• Formal apology towards inflicted parties
• Written admonition
• Potential transfer to another team
• Potential of termination

Level 3

Major infraction, including retaliation, or recurring socially inappropriate behavior after a written admonition.

• Termination of contract

Level 4

Serious cases, including any criminal offence.

• Termination of contract
• Reported to the Police/Authorities