bullying and harassment

Table of contents

Bullying and harassment 2

Introduction 2

What is meant by bullying and harassment? 3

Why does bullying and harassment occur? 4

The impact of bullying and harassment 4

Recognising bullying or harassment 5

Preventing bullying and harassment 6

Drawing up an anti-bullying and harassment

policy 6

Dealing with bullying and harassment claims 7

Here's how I developed an anti bullying and

harassment policy 8

Helplines 9

Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk 9

Related web sites you might find useful 9

Bullying and harassment

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Subjects covered in this guide

Introduction

What is meant by bullying and harassment?

Why does bullying and harassment occur?

The impact of bullying and harassment

Recognising bullying or harassment

Preventing bullying and harassment

Drawing up an anti-bullying and harassmentpolicy

Dealing with bullying and harassment claims

Here's how I developed an anti bullying andharassment policy

Helplines

Related guides on businesslink.gov.uk

Related web sites you might find useful

You can find this guide by navigating to:

Home > Employing people > Disciplinaryproblems, disputes and grievances >Bullying and harassment

Introduction

Bullying and harassment in a workplace areserious matters, and employers areresponsible for taking reasonable steps toprevent such behaviour.

The anti-discrimination legislation makes itunlawful in employment or vocationaltraining to harass someone on the groundsof:

• sex• marital status• gender reassignment• race• disability• religion/belief• sexual orientation• age

The Sex Discrimination Act also explicitlyoutlaws sexual harassment.

Bullying and harassment are unacceptableon moral grounds and may, if they areallowed to go unchecked or are badlyhandled, create serious problems for yourbusiness. Harassment is also against thelaw and can result in an employmenttribunal or other civil claims against theemployer and large awards incompensation.

Bullying and harassment can also have abad effect on your business in other ways,including poor performance, low staff moraleand poor employee relations, loss of respectfor management, increase in absence,higher staff turnover and damage to yourbusiness' reputation.

What is meant by bullying and



harassment?

Harassment - in relation to employment -has a legal definition, but bullying does not.

Bullying

There is no single legal definition of bullying,but it can include:

• offensive or insulting behaviour byanother employee which makes anindividual feel threatened, or takenadvantage of

• humiliation of an employee• less obvious ways of making an

employee feel frightened ordemoralised

Some common forms of bullying are:

• verbal abuse - eg persistent taunting• physical violence or violent gestures• public humiliation of an employee

However, bullying can be more subtle, suchas:

• giving someone an impossibledeadline

• removing an employee'sresponsibilities and giving them moremenial tasks

• withholding information or givingfalse information

Harassment

Harassment on the grounds of sex, maritalstatus, gender reassignment, race,disability, religion/belief, sexual orientationand age, along with sexual harassment, isexplicitly prohibited in employment andvocational training.

Harassment is defined as any unwantedconduct on the grounds of race, age, etcthat has the purpose or effect of:

• violating the dignity of an individual• creating an intimidating, hostile,

degrading, humiliating or offensiveatmosphere for an individual

The definition of harassment in relation tosex is slightly broader - an employee canclaim harassment even if the harassmentwas not actually directed at them, eg wherea female worker overhears a femalecolleague being verbally harassed by a malecolleague and it violates their dignity.

It is also important to note that, while sexualharassment is commonly committed by aman against a woman, it can also becommitted by a woman against a man, by aman against another man or by a womanagainst another woman.

Sexual harassment is defined as any formof unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physicalconduct of a sexual nature that has thepurpose or effect of:

• violating an individual's dignity• creating an intimidating, hostile,

degrading, humiliating or offensiveenvironment for an individual

It can also occur when an individual rejectsthe unwanted conduct mentioned aboveand, as a result, is treated unfairly.

You can read a factsheet on harassmentand the sex discrimination legislation onthe Government Equalities Office (GEO)website - Opens in a new window.



http://www.equalities.gov.uk/research,_facts_and_figures/factsheets.aspx




Examples of harassment include:

• embarrassing or otherwise offensivejokes

• unwelcome physical contact orsexual advances

• the expression of racist, homophobic,etc views

• lewd comments and innuendo• the sending of offensive emails, text

messages, etc• displays of pornographic material

It is possible that some incidents ofharassment may not be covered by theanti-discrimination legislation. However, if anemployer fails to deal with any form ofharassment, the victim could resign andclaim constructive dismissal. See the pagein this guide on the impact of bullying andharassment.

It is good practice for employers to have abullying and harassment policy givingwritten examples of what is unacceptablebehaviour in their organisation. See thepage in this guide on drawing up ananti-bullying and harassment policy.

Why does bullying andharassment occur?

Bullying and harassment may occurbecause of underlying problems in theworkplace such as:

• poor job design and workrelationships

• lack of accountability• the existence of a particular culture

at work• an over-competitive environment• fear of redundancy

• a rigid style of management• lack of procedure for resolving

problems

If bullying and/or harassment is a problem inyour workplace, try to find out why it'shappening before taking action.

For example, if a number of employeeshave started to complain of being on thereceiving end of sexist jokes, it may be thatthere is a culture of sexist banter in yourworkplace. If so, you could:

• take informal disciplinary actionagainst those telling the jokes, egverbal or written warnings

• remind all your staff about yourbullying/harassment policy, eg thatbullying and harassing colleagues isa serious disciplinary matter

See the page in this guide on dealing withbullying and harassment claims.

The impact of bullying andharassment

Employers should be aware of the potentiallegal implications of bullying andharassment in the workplace.

Harassment of an employee can amount to:

• unlawful discrimination on thegrounds of race, sex, marital status,gender reassignment, disability,religion/belief, sexual orientation orage

• a breach of contract, ie a breach ofone of the implied terms of anyemployment contract, such as theduty to provide a safe working



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environment or to maintain trust andconfidence in the employer

• a criminal offence

You could be liable for the actions of youremployees unless you have takenreasonable steps to prevent bullying orharassment. Action could still also be takenagainst you even after a person has left youremployment. You could even be responsiblefor the actions of third parties, eg clients orcustomers, where they are within yourcontrol.

You could also be held liable for harassmentif you fail to prevent a third party, eg acustomer, repeatedly harassing anemployee. Note that the harasser does nothave to be the same person on eachoccasion.

See our guide on how to preventdiscrimination and value diversity.

Bullying and harassment can also have aserious adverse effect on the success of thebusiness leading to reduced productivity andprofits. This is because bullying andharassment can cause:

• low morale and poor employeerelations

• loss of respect for managers• reduced productivity and profits• increased absenteeism and turnover

of staff• damage to the image of the business• employment tribunal or other civil

court claims - see our guide onhandling employment tribunalclaims

Recognising bullying orharassment

Bullying and harassment can often be hardfor employers to recognise, particularly as itmay not be obvious to colleagues of theperson being bullied or harassed.

This may be because:

• the harassment or bullying is done insubtle ways

• staff may think it's part of the 'culture'of the workplace

An individual may also be too frightened toreport an incident.

A good employer should be aware of this,and keep an eye out for some of thepossible signs of bullying and harassment.

Signs may include:

• absenteeism - if this is morefrequent, or for longer periods thanusual

• high staff turnover - especially if itoccurs in a particular section orwhere staff work for a particularmanager

• stress symptoms - including fatigue,anxiety, depression, immune systemsuppression, aches, pains,numbness and panic attacks

• a change in an individual's behaviouror performance at work

Bullying and harassment may be carried outface-to-face. However, it may be done inmore underhand ways, such as:

• by letter• electronically, by email• by phone• at work-related social functions



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See our guide on how to manage absenceand sickness.

Preventing bullying andharassment

Employers are responsible for preventingbullying and harassment, so it is in yourinterest to have a policy to avoid it and putprocedures in place to implement the policy.See the page in this guide on drawing upan anti-bullying and harassment policy.

It is your responsibility to make sure that anypolicy has been properly implemented, isunderstood by staff and is being used andmonitored properly. If a tribunal believes thatall reasonable steps have been taken by theemployer to prevent bullying andharassment, it may escape liability.

You should make sure that:

• All the management team are seento be fully committed to the policy.

• You identify who is in overall charge,and in day-to-day charge, ofimplementing the policy.

• You have set aside time to trainthose in charge on theirresponsibilities.

• The policy covers all the areascovered by anti-discrimination law.See our guide on how to preventdiscrimination and value diversity.

• The policy is linked to otherdisciplinary and grievanceprocedures and any appraisalsystem for managers.

• You use all appropriate ways toadvertise the policies to yourworkforce including any inductionprocess.

• You keep note of complaints so youcan detect any patterns ofinappropriate behaviour. Rememberthat an absence of any complaintsdoes not necessarily mean thatbullying and harassment is not goingon.

• You review the policy from time totime to make sure it's workingproperly.

Drawing up an anti-bullying andharassment policy

Ideally you should draw up a bullying andharassment policy in consultation with staffand/or their representatives.

For example, trade unions may help you asthey may well have experience in handlingbullying and harassment cases.

Your policy on bullying and harassmentcould include:

• An explanation of what the termsmean and that harassment covers allthe areas protected byanti-discrimination laws. See ourguide on how to preventdiscrimination and value diversity.

• Examples of behaviour that could beconsidered bullying and harassment.

• A statement that bullying andharassment will not be tolerated, andcould result in the bully or harasserbeing subjected to disciplinary action,which may result in dismissal.

• A statement pointing out that bullyingand harassment will not be toleratedat work-related events, eg Christmasparties, training courses - even ifthey are away from the normal











workplace.• Details of the procedures to be

followed if bullying and/orharassment occurs, including bothinformal and formal approaches andrelevant timescales that should belinked to your discipline andgrievance procedures.

• Assurance that any complaint will betaken seriously, treated confidentiallyand that employees makingcomplaints will be protected fromretaliation.

• Assurance that a thorough and fairinvestigation of a claim will takeplace.

• A statement that there will be a rightof appeal.

• Sources of guidance and support.

You should also include:

• the name of the person the employeeshould contact if they are beingbullied or harassed

• an alternative name in case thisperson is unsuitable, for examplebecause they are the employee'smanager

Read a draft bullying and harassmentpolicy agreement on the UNISON website- Opens in a new window.

Dealing with bullying andharassment claims

You should take bullying or harassmentcomplaints seriously as you can be heldliable for harassment suffered by youremployees at work or at work-relatedevents. Therefore, you should know, andmake known to your employees, whatapproach you will take, for example, by

issuing a policy that:

• encourages victims of bullying orharassment to come forward, in away that provides a way to bypassthe bully or harasser

• combines an informal route tocomplain within a formal procedureto be used when the matter cannotbe resolved informally and balancesthe interests of the victim and thealleged bully/harasser

• tells staff and trains managers as towhat they should do if they becomeaware of someone being bullied orharassed - see the page in this guideon drawing up an anti bullying andharassment policy

Bear in mind that a claim could be malicious- to investigate it thoroughly and fairly youshould:

• if possible use an impartial, trainedinvestigator

• consider suspension of the allegedbully or harasser on full pay while theinvestigation is carried out

• allow both parties to be accompaniedto a hearing by a representative oftheir choice

• make it clear that both parties havethe right of appeal

When you are dealing with a case ofbullying and harassment, decide carefullywhat action you are going to take - whetheragainst the complainant or bully/harasser.This could be:

• counselling or training• an informal or formal warning• suspension• transfer - only the guilty party should



http://www.unison.org.uk/resources/document_view.asp?did=943





be transferred• dismissal

Trade unions may have a role in cases ofbullying and harassment. They can provide:

• support for claims• guidance and support for the

complainant or the alleged bully orharasser

• accompaniment to hearings• help in eliminating a bullying culture

Here's how I developed an antibullying and harassment policy

Elizabeth-Anne Williams

Sefton Park Palm House PreservationTrust - Opens in a new window

Elizabeth-Anne's top tips:

• "Involve staff as much as possible."• "Be clear about why you're

introducing a policy and underlinemanagement commitment to it."

• "Communicate the messages in avariety of ways."

The Sefton Park Palm House PreservationTrust was formed in 1996 to restore anddevelop a Grade II listed Victorian palmhouse in Sefton Park near Liverpool. TheTrust raises income through commercialhires of the building, to ensure a sustainablefuture and support the development of anevents programme for visitors. DirectorElizabeth-Anne Williams describes how areview led to the introduction of a new policyto prevent workplace bullying.

What I did

Recognise the need for a formal policy

"We recently reviewed all our policies, tomake sure we were legally up to speed andto reflect the growth of the business. Wealso wanted to build on our culture ofopenness and good communication.

"One area that hadn't been properlyaddressed was bullying and harassment.The management team decided to developa formal bullying and harassment policy, notbecause we had a problem in that area, butbecause we wanted staff to know wherethey stood."

Write a policy

"We gathered information from sources likethe Acas website and also used a modelpolicy supplied by Tourism HR to get usstarted. The document sets the scope of thepolicy upfront and explains why it'simportant. For example it aims to giveemployees a clear sense of what behavioursare acceptable and what are not, to supportand protect them in the workplace and toencourage teamwork.

"The policy also includes sections on theprinciples behind the policy, legalresponsibilities and the procedures to befollowed in the event of an allegation. Forexample, it's important to show how itdovetails with related policies such asdisciplinary and grievance procedures.

"We included examples of what constitutesbullying and harassment. We especiallywanted to highlight the less obvious forms,such as circulating offensive jokes orconsistently setting unachievable deadlines.We also developed a simple flow-chart toshow the lines of reporting and proceduresat-a-glance."



http://www.palmhouse.org.uk

http://www.palmhouse.org.uk

Communicate with staff

"For staff to have faith in a bullying andharassment policy you have to involve themand make it more than just a document. Weconsulted staff about the new policy viateam meetings and individual discussions tomake sure they understood the principlesand procedures involved.

"We've made the policy very much a part ofour company culture and we look for waysto reinforce the message during day-to-dayactivities. Having the policy in place hasalready proved useful. Not only does itsupport our goal to create an open andteam-spirited environment, we've actuallyreferred to it formally to help resolve a minorincident."

What I'd do differently

Introduce a policy sooner

"We believe our bullying and harassmentpolicy is thorough and comprehensive andsets clear guidelines for acceptablebehaviour. In an ideal world, we would haveput it in place from day one."

Helplines

Andrea Adams Trust Helpline

01273 704900

Acas Helpline

08457 47 47 47

Related guides onbusinesslink.gov.uk

Prevent discrimination and valuediversity | Set up employment policiesfor your business | Handlingdisciplinaries | Handling employmenttribunal claims | How to deal with stress |Manage absence and sickness | Workeffectively with trade unions | Here's howasking employees for ideas improved ourbusiness | Here's how a diverseworkforce has helped my business |

Related web sites you might finduseful

Bullying and harassment at workguidance (PDF, 232K) - Opens in a newwindow

Tackling bullying at work for employerson the Andrea Adams Trust website -Opens in a new window

Resolving conflict online courses on thelearndirect business website - Opens in anew window

Download guidance on dealing withbullying at work from the CharteredInstitute of Personnel and Developmentwebsite (PDF, 550K) - Opens in a newwindow

Harassment and sex discriminationlegislation factsheet on the GovernmentEqualities Office website - Opens in anew window

Stress at work advice on the Acaswebsite - Opens in a new window

Draft bullying agreement on the UNISONwebsite - Opens in a new window



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http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=794



http://www.andreaadamstrust.org



http://www1.learndirect-business.com/?target=xpc.asp?course_id=5559%26wbt_type=course



http://www.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D9105C52-7FED-42EA-A557-D1785DF6D34F/0/bullyatwork0405.pdf











