Bullying at work – What Is It Exactly?
Bullying at work will occur when one employee attempts to or intimidates or threaten another employee. This can happen either in private or in public with other work colleagues present.
Work place bullying often happens when senior employees abuse their subordinates, though this not always be the case. Bullying is absolutely the same as harassment and any behaviour where someone deems that behaviour offensive will be considered bullying. Examples of this are making comments of a sexual nature, or abusing a person’s religion or race.
Legally speaking there is no such concept as work place bullying and any complaints or employment claims will be brought under the harassment and discrimination laws.
If the bullying is so bad that you feel you must resign then you it might be possible to bring a claim for constructive dismissal but before you resign we would recommend you take advice from experienced solicitors.
Bullying behaviour
Bullying behaviour in the work place includes humiliation, denting a person’s confidence and verbal or physical violence. If you are suffering any of the abuse below then you are most likely being bullied:
- being constantly singled out
- being made to feel humiliated in the eyes of other employees
- constantly being singled out for unfair treatment
- being verbally or physically attacked
- being always given way too much work to ensure you are forced to fall behind
- being constantly threatened with dismissal or demotion
- being denied opportunities for training or promotion unfairly
You can be bullied physically, by writing, by phone and by email or internet.
I am being bullied – what should I do?
If you are certain that you are being bullied then your employer has breached his employment law legal obligation to you to make sure that employees are not abused.
Get some advice
First speak to someone who might be able to help you stop the bullying as quick as possible. This might be:
- a trade union official or employee representative
- someone in your human resources department
- your manager or supervisor
Some larger companies have trained staff to assist with bullying issues. If the bullying is creating health problems then see a doctor.
Talk to the bully
The behaviour may not actually be deliberate. Talk to the bully and tell them what affect their behaviour is having on you. They may not realize what they are doing. When talking prepare what you want to say and always stay calm. If you don’t want to talk personally to that person then perhaps find a friendly colleague who will do it for you.
Keep written records of the abuse
Always make sure you write down all the details of what happened to you so you can use this as evidence when the time comes to resolve the issue.
Make a formal complaint
If the informal route does not work or you feel the abuse is so severe you need not go through an informal route then you need to make a formal complaint. In order to make the formal complaint you need to read your relevant grievance procedure and follow the steps outlined.
However making a formal complaint might not that be easy. We list below the most common difficult situations which might arise and how to deal with them.
Your grievance procedure says you need to speak to your manager and he is the bully.
You will have to follow the grievance procedure to make sure it helps your legal case if you need to take action.
Your boss is violent and abusive to you and you are intimidated to make a complaint If that is the case then take legal advice immediately as you will need to make a claim.
When do I need to take legal action ?
Sometimes following the grievance procedure will not improve your situation. If the abuse does not stop then you may have to consider taking legal advice from solicitors to bring an a claim in an Employment Tribunal.
It is recommended that you get some professional advice from employment solicitors before taking going to a tribunal.
Remember that you can’t bring a claim for bullying in the workplace. It has to be a claim made under laws covering discrimination and harassment.
If you are forced to leave your job because of bullying, then you may be deemed to be ‘constructively’ dismissed. Again this can be hard to demonstrate so you do need to take solicitors advice at an early stage.