No one should have to endure bullying or harassment at work. Whether you are an employee suffering unacceptable behaviour, or an employer needing to take action, our specialist SRA-regulated solicitors are here to provide robust legal advice to protect you.
Understanding the legal definitions is the first step to knowing your rights. While the terms are often used together, they have distinct meanings in employment law.
Bullying is not legally defined on its own, but it is typically described as offensive, intimidating, malicious, or insulting behaviour. It often involves an abuse of power that makes the recipient feel vulnerable and undermined. While not a standalone claim, it can be a key part of other claims.
Harassment is a specific form of unlawful discrimination. It is defined as "unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic" that violates a person's dignity or creates a hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment for them.
The key difference is that harassment is linked to a protected characteristic (like your sex, race, or age). If the bullying you are experiencing is related to one of these, you have a strong legal claim. Our solicitors can assess your situation and provide clear advice.
Get a Confidential AssessmentThe Situation: A female employee was subjected to repeated, unwanted, and offensive sexual comments by a male colleague. She complained to her manager, but no effective action was taken to stop the behaviour.
The Problem: The situation became so intolerable that the employee felt she had no choice but to resign. She then brought claims for sexual harassment and constructive unfair dismissal.
The Outcome: The Employment Tribunal upheld both her claims. It found that the employer had failed in its duty to protect her from harassment, and that this failure was a serious breach of her employment contract, justifying her resignation. She was awarded significant compensation.
What this means for you: Your employer has a legal duty to protect you from harassment. If they fail to act on your complaints, you may have grounds to resign and claim constructive dismissal. Our solicitors can provide robust advice on your options.
Keep a detailed written diary of all incidents, including dates, times, what was said or done, and who was present. Then, check your employer's grievance and anti-bullying policies. The next step is usually to raise a formal grievance with HR or your manager. We can provide confidential advice before you take any of these steps.
Your employer's duty of care can extend to work-related events or communications outside of the workplace, including on social media. If a colleague is harassing you online in connection with your work, your employer should take action. You should save all evidence of the posts or messages.
There is no standalone legal claim for "bullying." However, if the bullying amounts to harassment related to a protected characteristic, you can claim for injury to feelings. If you were forced to resign due to the bullying, you could bring a claim for constructive dismissal. We can assess your situation and advise you on the best claim to pursue.
As an employer, you have a legal duty of care to protect your staff's health, safety, and welfare. You can be held 'vicariously liable' for acts of harassment committed by your employees. The only defence is to show that you took all reasonable steps to prevent it from happening, which includes having robust policies and providing regular staff training.
You must take any grievance seriously and conduct a fair and thorough investigation immediately. It is crucial that you follow your internal grievance procedure correctly. We can provide expert, impartial advice on how to manage the investigation and subsequent disciplinary action to ensure you follow a legally compliant process.
A robust policy should clearly define what constitutes bullying and harassment, state that it will not be tolerated, set out a clear procedure for reporting complaints, and detail the potential disciplinary consequences for breaches. The policy should be communicated to all staff and regularly reviewed.
Whether you need to make a stand or protect your business, our expert employment law solicitors are here to provide clear, robust, and compassionate legal guidance.
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