Employment Law

Bullying at the workplace is generally a much more subtle activity then outright harassment which is usually a a lot far more obvious and physical scenario. Bullying can be difficult to detect as individual incidents can seem to be very minor to an observer. But, if viewed as component of the chain of events that they make up, then a clear pattern of damaging actions commence to emerge. Those people that perpetrate these actions on a typical basis are regarded as to be bullies. Bullying is consequently a lot more of a cumulative procedure and ought to be viewed as such. Examples of this kind of workplace bullying are excessive demands created on an individual, unfair public criticism, unfair scheduling, closing the avenues of promotion or producing regular false claims or allegations against an individual.

A workplace bully could just be caught up in a pattern of behaviour that they may possibly not necessarily aware of, at times simply because maybe no-one has but brought it to their attention. Most typical people will really leave their job rather then confront the issue head on, but this only compounds the problem. Even so, the bully could in truth be purposefully treating folks this way to intimidate them or establish a relationship of dominance over them. If this is the case it will be most likely that their will be numerous employees that will be experiencing comparable behaviour. If this group of workers can bring the concern to their manager’s attention as a group, it will not only add weight to their accusations but will also make the whole ordeal much less stressful.

There are a number of practical actions that an employee can take if they want to deal with a workplace bully. The very first factor to do is start to record and document any incidents that occur. These records should have the time and date but also the nature of the occurrence as nicely as any other workers that were witnesses. This will not only mean that the employee can present a clearer picture of what has been happening to them, but will also place the burden of proof on the employee accused of bullying. An additional critical step is to be conscious of the huge body of law that deals with these issues. Although there is not legislation that deals specifically with workplace bullying, most circumstances centre around the provisions found in the Sex Discrimination Act and the Race Relations Act. There is a entire range of other potentially relevant legislation but an employer would be especially advised to investigate the Disability Discrimination Act, the Protection from Harassment Act, the Human Rights Act, the Employment Act and the Employment Rights Act.

If an Employer has a sustained campaign of bullying brought to their attention they should already have an internal process in location to deal with the concern. If the accused is discovered to have been guilty of workplace bullying they ought to face disciplinary procedures and perhaps even dismissal. The key here is that workplace bullying is always wrong and it is the bully that ought to have to face the consequences of their actions.