Bullying and Harassment at Work

Bullying and harassment continue to be a significant issue in the workplace and cases are on the rise with ACAS Conciliation Service receiving around 200,000 calls in just one year!

Behaviours of bullying and harassment could include unwanted physical contact, unwarranted criticism and unsolicited remarks which often takes place in front of other colleagues. This can cause distress, anxiety, stress and loss of confidence for the recipient.

At present there is no legal definition of bullying but according to ACAS it could be described as unwanted behaviour from an individual or a group of people that:

  • Is intimidating, insulting, offensive or malicious.
  • Causes physical or emotional harm when an individual attempts to apply excessive or inappropriate influence over someone’s behaviour or decisions.

Bullying can become harassment, which is covered by the Equality Act 2010, when the unwanted behaviour, which causes offence and is intimidating, relates to a protected characteristic:

  • Age
  • Sex
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Marriage and civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Race
  • Religion or belief
  • Sexual orientation

Bullying itself is not a specific criminal offence in the UK, but some types of bullying are illegal and should be reported to the police. These include:

  • violence or assault
  • theft
  • repeated harassment or intimidation, for example name calling, threats and abusive phone calls, emails or text messages
  • hate crimes

You are probably being bullied if you are:

  • constantly picked on
  • humiliated in front of colleagues
  • regularly treated unfairly
  • physically or verbally abused
  • blamed for problems caused by others
  • given too much to do, so that you regularly fail in your work
  • regularly threatened with the sack
  • unfairly passed over for promotion or denied training opportunities

To be defined as harassment, the unwanted behaviour must have either:

  • violated a person’s dignity
  • created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment

By law, whether someone’s behaviour counts as harassment depends on:

  • the circumstances of the situation
  • how the person receiving the unwanted behaviour views it
  • if the person receiving the behaviour is ‘reasonable’ to view it as they do

If someone makes a harassment claim to an employment tribunal, the Tribunal will also consider whether a ‘typical’ person would see the behaviour as harassment.

No employee should dread going into to work because of the negative attitudes and behaviours of other colleagues towards them.  Raising the issue could also be something that feels like it could cause more trouble than it’s worth. If you can, initially you should try to deal with the issue informally.

  • Look up the organisation’s policies in the handbook on behaviour in the workplace and the processes to follow to inform supervisors/HR and the steps that they are expected to take.
  • If you feel safe enough, ideally try to approach the person who is bullying you.  They may not be aware of how their behaviour is affecting you.  By speaking to them they may reflect on how they have been treating you. If it is not possible to approach the perpetrator then make a manager, HR or trade union representative aware of the situation and they should take steps on your behalf to help resolve the issue and may suggest mediation as an option.
  • If the issue is with your manager, a choice of contact should be available or you could talk to HR or a union representative, or if there is nobody you can speak to then contact the ACAS helpline for advice.
  • Gather evidence, dates, times details of incidents, save emails, texts and document any times you have been left out of meetings etc. 
  • Talk to someone you are comfortable with about the situation as you should not face this alone and talking can help to minimise the impact this has on your mental health.
  • If the situation cannot be resolved informally then you may need to make a formal complaint by raising a grievance.  How to raise a grievance and what to expect from the process, should be detailed in the organisations handbook of policies and procedures.

If you feel, despite all your attempts, that no progress has been made to stop the bullying, it’s time to get advice on your legal rights.

It is important to have tried to resolve the problem with your employer internally before taking legal action. When you make a claim to an employment tribunal, that’s one of the first things they’ll ask you. If you can show the tribunal a record of the mistreatment, the efforts you have made to resolve the issue, and that the employer has failed to act, then you could have a claim for constructive unfair dismissal.

Employers are responsible for preventing bullying and harassment and they are liable for any harassment suffered by their employees.

Anti-bullying and harassment policies can help prevent problems.

If you are in a situation where you are being bullied and are unsure of your rights, then please call 01983 897003 for a no-obligation discussion.

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The information contained in this blog post is provided for guidance and is a snapshot of the law at the time it is written. It is provided for your information only and should not be used as a substitute for obtaining legal advice that it specific to your particular circumstances.

The guidance should not be relied upon in any decision making process. It is strongly recommended that you seek advice before taking action.


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