Bullying and harassment

The impact of bullying and harassment

Employers should be aware of the potential legal implications of bullying and harassment in the workplace. You could be liable for the actions of your employees unless you have taken reasonable steps to prevent bullying or harassment. Action could still be taken against you even after a person has left your employment. You could also be responsible for the actions of third parties, eg clients or customers, where they are within your control.

You could be liable for:

• breach of the employer's duty of care to provide a safe and healthy working environment
• discrimination on grounds of race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or other belief if employees believe you have not dealt with their concerns 
• unfair constructive dismissal, for example in a case involving serious bullying

There is also a potential of criminal penalties for the offence of intentional harassment .

See our guide on how to  prevent discrimination and value diversity .

Bullying and harassment can also have a serious adverse effect on the success of the business leading to reduced productivity and profits. This is because bullying and harassment can cause:

• low morale and poor employee relations
• loss of respect for managers
• reduced productivity and profits
• increased absenteeism and turnover of staff
• damage to the image of the business
• employment tribunal or other civil court claims - see our guide on handling employment tribunal claims

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• What is meant by bullying and harassment?
• The impact of bullying and harassment
• Recognising bullying or harassment
• Prevent bullying and harassment
• Draw up an anti bullying and harassment policy
• Dealing with bullying and harassment claims
• Here's how I developed an anti bullying and harassment policy

 

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