Anti Bullying
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Bullying is a word that we associate with the playground more than we do the workplace, but cases of workplace bullying are increasingly commonplace. Statistics collected by the workers' union Unison suggest that the increase in workplace bullying is not merely down to increased media exposure: according to the figures, workplace bullying has doubled in the last decade and a third of workers claim to have been bullied in the last six months.Some of the bullying behaviours identified by participants in the workplace bullying survey include excessive monitoring, unfair or excessive criticism and intimidation. Public humiliation, exclusion and general rude and disrespectful treatment were also frequently cited. In some cases, employers had even used e-mails and mobile phones to target their employees and place unfair pressure on them even outside of working hours.
The law states that an employee who feels that they have been victim to one of these, or another type of bullying behaviour can bring a claim for bullying or harassment to the employment tribunal. Many employees are left fearful of making such a claim, which is why it is so vital that more people are made aware that actually, there is no legal fee for putting in one of these legal claims and it can easily be done online.
If an employee who feels as though they have been victimised by workplace bullying has worked for their employer for a year or more then they may simply resign and then bring a claim for constructive dismissal, which more or less means that they were pushed out of their job by unreasonable behaviour by the bullies. In such a case, they may be rewarded with as much as £63,300 in compensation.
Furthermore, if the victim of workplace bullying claims that the bullying was based on a reason such as their race, sex, religion, beliefs or sexual orientation then they may make a claim for unlawful discrimination or harassment. In these more serious cases there is no minimum period of service with the employer required. At the employment tribunal, workplace bullies should be reminded that the victim may name individuals who bullied them and not only the employer and that those individuals may be liable to pay for any compensation awarded.