Workplace Bullying and Harassment

Every employee has the legal right to be protected against Bullying and Harassment in the workplace.

In the first instance try to speak to your line manager or HR department and give your employer the opportunity to resolve the issue internally.

If for any reason you’re unable to do this, or your company has failed to act and/or solve the issues, contact our Specialist Employment Team and we can provide cost-effective, practical legal advice to solve the situation.”

A one-off incident can amount to harassment. Conduct can amount to harassment if it is related to a relevant protected characteristic which include:-

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Actionable harassment occurs when one person engages in unwanted conduct that has the purpose or effect of violating another person’s dignity or creating an intimidating hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person.

With regards to bullying, there is no statutory definition and a claim for bullying could found a grievance being raised and if the bullying behaviour is not addressed and dealt with, an employee may decide to resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal. Bullying can take many forms in the workplace from being ostracised to being treated unfairly by peers or others.

Speak to us today if you feel that you are being Bullied or face Harassment in the workplace and you have already spoken to your employer about it. Call Susan on 0161 785 3500 to discuss what options are open to you.