Health and Safety Resources

Unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of men and women in the workplace. It may be related to age, sex, race, disability, religion, nationality or any personal characteristic of the individual, and may be persistent or an isolated incident. The key is that the actions or comments are viewed as demeaning and unacceptable to the recipient.

Bullying may be characterised as:

Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.

Bullying or harassment may be by an individual against an individual (perhaps by someone in a position of authority such as a manager or supervisor) or involve groups of people. It may be obvious or it may be insidious. Whatever form it takes, it is unwarranted and unwelcome in the workplace.

Examples of bullying/harassing behaviour include:

Spreading malicious rumours, or insulting someone by word or behaviour (particularly on the grounds of age, race, sex, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief)
Ridiculing or demeaning someone - picking on them or setting them up to fail
Exclusion or victimisation
Overbearing supervision or other misuse of power or position
Unwelcome sexual advances - touching, standing too close, the display of offensive materials
Making threats or comments about job security without foundation
Deliberately undermining a competent worker by overloading and constant criticism

Bullying and harassment do not necessarily take place face-to-face. It may also occur in written communications, email, phone, and automatic supervision methods such as computer recording of downtime from work or the number of calls handled if these are not applied to all workers. Bullying and harassment can make someone feel anxious and humiliated. Feelings of anger and frustration at being unable to cope may be triggered. Some people may try to retaliate in some way. Stress, loss of self-confidence and self-esteem caused by harassment or bullying can lead to job insecurity, illness, absence from work, and even resignation. Almost always job performance is affected and relations in the workplace suffer.

The legal position

Employers are responsible for preventing bullying and harassing behaviour. It is in their interests to make it clear to everyone that such behaviour will not be tolerated - the costs to the business may include poor employee relations, low morale, inefficiency and potentially the loss of staff. An organisational statement to all staff about the standards of behaviour expected can make it easier for all individuals to be fully aware of their responsibilities to others.

Discrimination and harassment

It is not possible to make a direct complaint to an employment tribunal about bullying. However, employees might be able to bring complaints under laws covering discrimination and harassment. For example:

Sex: the Sex Discrimination Act gives protection against discrimination and victimisation on the grounds of sex, marriage or because someone intends to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment
Race: the Race Relations Act 1976 gives protection against discrimination and victimisation on the grounds of colour or nationality. The regulations that amended the Act (Race Regulations 2003) also give a stand alone right to protection from harassment on the grounds of race and ethnic or national origin
Disability: the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 gives protection against discrimination and victimisation
Sexual orientation: the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 give protection against discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation (orientation is defined as 'same sex' - lesbian/gay - 'opposite sex' - heterosexual - and 'both sexes' - bisexual)
Religion or belief: the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 give protection against discrimination and harassment on the grounds of religion or belief
Age: the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 give protection against discrimination and harassment on the grounds of age.

Health and safety

Breach of contract may also include the failure to protect an employee's health and safety at work. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers are responsible for the health, safety and welfare at work of all employees.

What can you do?

Bullying and harassment are often clear cut but sometimes people are unsure whether or not the way they are being treated is acceptable. If this applies to you there are a number of things to consider, including:

Has there been a change of management or organisational style to which you just need time to adjust - perhaps because you have a new manager or work requirements?
Is there an organisational statement of standards of behaviour that you can consult?
Can you talk over your worries with your personnel manager, your line manager/supervisor, union representative or colleagues, who you may find share your concerns?
Can you agree changes to workload or ways of working that will make it easier for you to cope?

What can you do if you are being bullied?

Let your union or staff representative know of the problem, or seek advice elsewhere, perhaps from a Citizens Advice Bureau, an Acas enquiry point or one of the bullying help lines that are now available by phone and on the Internet.

Try to talk to colleagues to find out if anyone else is suffering, or if anyone has witnessed what has happened to you - avoid being alone with the bully.

Keep a diary of all incidents - records of dates, times, any witnesses, your feelings, etc. Keep copies of anything that is relevant, for instance annual reports, letters, memos, notes of any meetings that relate to your ability to do your job. Bullying and harassment often reveal themselves through patterns of behaviour and frequency of incidents. Keep records and inform your employer of any medical help you seek.

Tell the person to stop whatever it is they are doing that is causing you distress, otherwise they may be unaware of the effect of their actions. If you find it difficult to tell the person yourself, you may wish to get someone else - a colleague, trade union official or confidential counsellor - to act on your behalf.

Statistics

The following statistics were reported to the UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line

In terms of sectoral spread, bullying was most evident in:

Teachers, lecturers and school administrative staff (reported by 20% of respondents)
Health care professionals, including nurses, paramedics, GPs (12%)
Social services and caring occupations including care of the elderly and people with special needs (10%)
The voluntary and non-profit sector, with small charities (6-8%).

Approx 90% of cases involve a manager bullying a subordinate; 8% are peer-to-peer bullying, and 2% subordinate(s) bullying their manager.