Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace
October 2007

This Supplement from the IDS Brief team explains the law applicable to claims of bullying and harassment in the workplace, and the remedies available. The Supplement gives guidance on steps employers can take to tackle the problem, including the drafting and implementation of effective bullying and harassment policies.

Bullying and harassment is an increasing problem in the workplace:

• 3.8 per cent of employees had personally experienced bullying or harassment at work in the previous two years.
• More than one in ten employees surveyed said they were aware of another person at their work being bullied or harassed over the same period.
• Women (4.9 per cent) were more likely to have been bullied than men (2.8 percent).
• The incidence of bullying and harassment was also found to be more than twice as high in the public sector (5.8 per cent) than in the private sector (2.7 per cent).

How can IDS Bullying & Harassment in the Workplace help?

•Chapter 1 gives a broad overview of the duties imposed on employers with regard to tackling bullying and harassment at work. These include the common law duty of care, statutory duties, express and implied contractual duties, and specific duties imposed on public sector employers.

•Chapter 2 considers the preliminary and jurisdictional issues that arise in relation to a claim of unlawful harassment under the legislation prohibiting discrimination and harassment in employment on the grounds of sex, race, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age.

• Chapter 3 examines the substantive issues involved in a claim of unlawful harassment, including the statutory definition of harassment, the extent of employers’ liability for the actions of their employees, and the remedies available to successful claimants.

• Chapter 4 discusses the potential for employees to bring a claim in the tort of negligence, based on the employer’s breach of the duty of care, in respect of injury to health caused by workplace bullying. The chapter goes on to consider similar claims under the general law of contract and explains the extent of employers’ vicarious liability at common law for the actions of their employees.

• Chapter 5 focuses on unfair constructive dismissal claims based on workplace bullying. The chapter also considers the possibility of a bullied employee bringing a claim of unlawful detriment based on one of the various grounds protected under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

• Chapter 6 gives guidance on the drafting and implementation of a bullying and harassment policy, a key tool for tackling bullying and harassment in the workplace.