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Opinion
Monica Berg creates platform to report harassment
Bartender Monica Berg has created a free digital platform for the hospitality industry to raise concerns regarding discrimination, harassment and other harmful encounters anonymously.
Monica Berg has created a digital platform where on-trade employees can report discrimination, harassment and other harmful encounters anonymously
The platform, called Back of House, started at Berg’s London bar, Tayēr + Elementary, which she launched with her partner, Alex Kratena, earlier this year.
Berg and Kratena wanted to give their employees a “safe, inclusive and open working environment” where they had the opportunity to report any issues anonymously.
As such, they created an online resource for staff members where they could fill out a form to express their problems, stating who they would feel most comfortable speaking to about the issue, and also suggesting a potential resolution.
Now, Berg has taken the initiative public and made it available to the wider on-trade sector. Company owners within the hospitality industry can register and use the template form available, or create one more suited to their businesses.
They can then share the link with their employees, and owners will receive an email when someone has filled it out.
Berg said: “We work in one of the best industries in the world, but it is also one of the toughest – and, unfortunately, where inappropriate behaviour or actions can sometimes go unnoticed.
“It’s really upsetting to me to think that there are people out there who are afraid to go to work, have no one to turn to within their teams or who don’t know how to take that first step to speak up.
“That’s why I’m opening up our internal resource to the global hospitality community, providing a platform for people to use in their own businesses. I hope it will help alleviate pressures for business owners, as well as providing a safe space for employees to express their issues.”
For more information and to sign up to the initiative, visit www.backofhouse.info.