It’s a nightmare scenario for any HR team: a senior employee is accused of a long-standing bullying habit, and the employees ‘have the receipts’ – as they say! How do you deal with it? What happens when the accused individual is significantly more senior than the accuser? How does a person’s seniority and length of service impact your reaction? And how much does the stress and high stakes of the subject matter excuse bullying behaviours?

Bullying is generally used to mean behaviour that is:

• offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting
• an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone.

Bullying at work can be a regular pattern, or a one-off incident. It can occur in many places including digital bullying, and it can occur outside of the workplace setting.

Examples of bullying at work include:

• spreading malicious rumours about someone
• consistently putting someone down in meetings
• deliberately giving someone a heavier workload than everyone else
• excluding someone from team social events
• someone consistently undermining their manager’s authority (known as upwards bullying)
• putting humiliating, offensive or threatening comments or photos on social media.

What does the law say?

Bullying itself is not a crime, but creating a respectful and inclusive work environment is crucial for employee well-being and productivity. There are a number of legal frameworks in place to address poor behaviours such as workplace bullying and offensive language, aiming to protect employees from harassment and discrimination.

Workplace bullying refers to the repeated, unwanted, and intimidating behaviour aimed at an individual or a group of employees. It can manifest in various forms, such as verbal abuse, humiliation, exclusion, or sabotage. While the UK doesn’t have specific legislation solely dedicated to bullying, it can fall under the purview of existing laws that tackle harassment and discrimination; such as the Equality Act.

The Equality Act is a fundamental legislation in the UK that prohibits discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Under this law, bullying related to a protected characteristic, such as age, disability, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation, is deemed unlawful. Employers are legally bound to prevent and address any form of harassment or bullying, including offensive language, that occurs in the workplace.

Employers have a legal duty to provide a safe and healthy working environment for their employees. To meet these obligations, they should take proactive measures to prevent workplace bullying and offensive language. This includes establishing robust policies and procedures, conducting awareness training, promptly investigating complaints, and taking appropriate disciplinary actions against offenders.

The impact of bullying at work

Workplace bullying and offensive language can have severe negative consequences for both individuals and organisations. Bullied individuals may suffer from stress, anxiety, decreased productivity, and even long-term health issues, depending on the severity of the incidences. Moreover, it can damage workplace morale, create a toxic culture, and lead to high employee turnover. Employers may face repercussions including tribunals, compensation claims and damage to their reputation.

Bullying at work can impact employees’ mental and physical wellbeing and can have a detrimental effect on workplace productivity. People who have been bullied experience a range of problems, including depression, stress, anxiety and panic attacks. There can be a physical impact, too, with bullying sometimes leading to high blood pressure, migraines, and hormone disturbances among others. Researchers are also exploring whether there is an indirect link between bullying and such diseases as asthma, allergies, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and some forms of cancer.

When it comes to productivity, workplace bullying has a clear and negative impact – both for victims and those who witness the bullying. Victims spend much of their time trying to gain support and defend themselves from the bullying – time that would otherwise be spent working. Those who witness workplace bullying may look for another job that offers a better working environment.

Meanwhile, bullying results in greater absenteeism and turnover, lower quality customer service, higher costs for employee assistance programs and decreased motivation and morale.

Addressing bullying and offensive language

Employers should establish robust mechanisms to address bullying and offensive language promptly. This includes providing clear reporting channels, conducting impartial investigations, offering support to victims, and implementing appropriate disciplinary actions against offenders. Employers should also promote a culture of respect, raise awareness through training programs, and encourage open communication.

The question of bad language is also important. Swearing at work can often no longer be the immediate no-no it once was. In fact, occasional swearing might be commonplace in some work environments – but it can become problematic if it creates an intimidating, hostile, or degrading atmosphere. It’s hard for HR teams to define where the line is, so policies around swearing and bad language can be difficult to approve and implement.

When swearing creates a bullying or negative atmosphere, employers should address the issue by setting clear expectations through workplace policies and codes of conduct. They can establish guidelines that discourage excessive swearing and offensive language, ensuring a respectful and professional workplace culture.

The UK has robust legal frameworks in place to address workplace bullying and offensive language. The Equality Act establishes the responsibilities of both employers and employees in creating a safe and inclusive work environment. By adhering to these laws, implementing effective policies, and fostering a culture of respect, organisations can promote a positive workplace environment where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to thrive.

Legal risks

Unchecked bullying can result in potential legal risks, particularly in the form of constructive dismissal and discrimination claims.

One of the key components in a claim of constructive dismissal – where the employee argues that they were forced to resign due to the treatment they received – is that there was a fundamental breach of the employment contract. The term most often cited here is the implied term of trust and confidence.

When it comes to discrimination, the main concern is around protected characteristics. Harassment on the grounds of a protected characteristic can often be an example of the most insidious form of bullying – picking on a someone because of their characteristics.

What should HR managers do if they suspect bullying?

Workplace policies are a good first line of defence. It’s important not only to have the policies in place, but to ensure that all employees are aware of what’s expected of them in terms of behaviour.

Training, too, is a good preventative approach – particularly for managers and supervisors. All too often, bullying behaviour can be the result of a manager who does not have the appropriate tools for addressing underlying problems, such as performance, which can result in heavy handed and bullying behaviour.

As with any employment law issues, it’s always sensible to seek expert advice at an early stage to ensure that the organisation is properly protected. A specialist employment lawyer will be able to support you with your organisation’s specific needs.