Bullying and harassment can make work unsafe, affecting people’s wellbeing, confidence and ability to do their jobs. These behaviours can happen face to face, online, by email or through everyday workplace decisions.
Employers have a responsibility to prevent bullying and harassment and respond properly when concerns are raised. This guide explains what bullying and harassment mean, what UK law says, and what employees and employers should do when problems arise.
Bullying and harassment both involve unwanted behaviour that can make someone feel intimidated, degraded, humiliated or offended. The key difference is that harassment has a specific meaning under the Equality Act 2010 when it is linked to certain protected characteristics or is sexual in nature.
As many of us are well aware, this type of behaviour can occur anywhere, including at home, in school, at work, or out in public.
Examples of bullying and harassment include obvious things such as spreading malicious rumours, insulting, ridiculing or demeaning someone. Other ways that it can occur include excluding someone from events, setting up someone to fail, or treating them unfairly.
It can occur online, via emails or instant messaging services or face to face. It can happen one-to-one or in a group setting.
All employers have a legal and moral duty to protect staff from bullying and harassment.
Our health and safety courses support legal compliance and effective risk management. They raise awareness of common workplace hazards and teach the fundamentals of safe working.
Harassment and bullying are terms that are often used interchangeably as both include the same unwanted behaviour. However, harassment has a specific legal meaning under the Equality Act 2010.
The Equality Act 2010 lists nine characteristics that are protected under the law. These are:
Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
The Equality Act 2010 is the main legislation covering workplace discrimination and harassment in Great Britain. It replaced earlier anti-discrimination laws, including previous laws on sex discrimination, race relations and disability discrimination. Serious behaviour may also raise issues under other areas of law, such as criminal law, health and safety law or employment law.
Since 26 October 2024, employers have had a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees. This means employers should assess the risk of sexual harassment, take action to reduce those risks and make sure workers know how to report concerns.
Bullying is also a form of aggression where there is a power imbalance but is not defined by characteristics of discrimination. Here the aggressor uses offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour to victimize the recipient.
So, for instance, if a colleague said something disparaging about your physical strength, it would be considered bullying, as bullying is not one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. However, if a colleague said something disparaging about your age, it would be harassment and illegal.
If you feel bullied or harassed at work, first and foremost, it’s vital that you do something about it. Bullying and harassment can cause mental distress, which can impact your physical health. These problems, along with the unwanted behaviour, may only continue or get worse.
Moreover, if unacceptable behaviour is not challenged, it can easily become part of a culture and the more difficult to stop.
If a bulling or harassment incident takes place, you must start by consulting the company policy. It may give you specific guidance on how to proceed.
This is the first step towards dealing a bully or harasser. Your workplace anti-bullying policy will contain all of the necessary guidance on how to formally or informally proceed with the issue, or any actions that you must take on the spot.
This will begin by recording evidence. You must keep a record on when the incident happened, where it took place, how it occurred, and who else was there witnessing it. This can be an email account, chat log, diary, or audio recordings stored on your smartphone.
The next step is getting a second opinion. If you think you have been the target of bullying or harassment, do not keep it to yourself. Discuss it with someone you trust. Speaking with a friend, family, or a work colleague will likely make you feel better and give you a clearer understanding of what is happening.
It is important that you bring the issue to a line-manager or supervisor, or a member of HR. If you feel you cannot speak to your manager – for instance, if they are involved in the bullying or harassment – find another manager or senior colleague.
It is always better to seek an informal resolution with the person you are having difficulties with, if possible. In informal resolution, means that efforts are made to solve the issue without it being recorded, and without following formal procedures.
Informal resolutions are often best, because they offer the opportunity to potentially resolve the situation quickly and easily.
There are three ways to go about it:
In most cases, speaking with the person directly yourself to communicate that there is a problem is the best way to resolve the issue. Speaking to the person directly helps establish that this behaviour will not continue, and where you stand on it.
Here is what you need to make sure before approaching the bully for a conversation:
You must also keep in mind to be firm but not aggressive, stay positive and calm, stick to the facts, and avoid using emotional or judgemental language. Be prepared to discuss what happened even if it is embarrassing and clearly state that you want the behaviour to stop because it causes you distress.
Leave when finished, and always keep a record of the discussion.
If you do not want to talk to the bully or harasser, you can also send an email or letter. If you decide to write the bully or harasser, you should communicate exactly what the person did, when and where it happened, how it made you feel and that you want this behaviour to stop. You should also communicate that if it does not stop, you will use formal procedures.
You may also have the option of mediation to resolve bullying or harassment. In mediation a third party helps those involved in the problem find an agreeable solution.
Mediators can be internal, appointed from within the organisation, or externally hired.
If you are using mediation, remember:
In rare cases, where bullying and harassment cannot be resolved informally, then formal steps are required. Formal procedures can have serious consequences and should not be taken lightly.
However, formal steps can be necessary, if:
If considering a formal procedure, talk to your manager or an appropriate member of staff. These procedures are also provided for every employee in writing as will the results of any formal proceedings.
If a formal procedure does occur, it will most likely involve an impartial investigation, a hearing or meetings as required, and a final decision being made. It is your employer’s legal duty to ensure that such proceedings take place as fairly and consistently for everyone involved.
Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of being bullied or harassed. Bullying and harassment are easier to prevent when organisations have clear policies, visible reporting routes and managers who know how to respond. And when such incidents do arise, employers are much better equipped to handle them.
Often, being prepared for bullying or harassment can go far in preventing it. If you are unaware if your own organisation has an anti-bullying at work policy, you should inquire. Human Focus also offers an awareness level Bullying and Harassment online training course, which is suitable for those at any level within an organisation.
