Bullying and harassment
What is meant by bullying and harassment?
Bullying and harassment are two different things, although both are unwelcome to an employee.
Whatever the reason, bullying and harassment are always unacceptable. They may occur because of underlying problems in the workplace such as:
- poor job design and work relationships
- lack of accountability
- the existence of a particular culture at work - eg one where racist or sexist jokes are tolerated
- an over-competitive environment
- fear of redundancy
- a rigid style of management
- lack of procedure for resolving problems
Bullying
Bullying can include:
- offensive or insulting behaviour by another employee which makes an individual feel threatened, or taken advantage of
- humiliation of an employee, but not necessarily on the grounds of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or other belief
- less obvious ways of making an employee feel frightened or demoralised
Some common forms of bullying are:
- verbal abuse - eg persistent taunting
- physical violence or violent gestures
- public humiliation of an employee
Harassment
Harassment on the grounds of sex, including sexual harassment, has long been recognised in law as a form of direct discrimination. From 1 October 2005, harassment is explicitly prohibited in employment and vocational training.
Harassment occurs where:
- there is unwanted conduct in any of the protected areas covered by anti-discrimination law - sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or other belief
- it has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of an individual
- it creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive atmosphere
Examples of harassment include:
- embarrassing or otherwise offensive jokes
- unwelcome physical contact or sexual advances
- racial or sexual abuse or abuse relating to disability, sexual orientation, religion or other belief
It is good practice for employers to give written examples of what is unacceptable behaviour in their organisation, eg in the staff handbook.
Read about changes to sex discrimination legislation at the Women and Equality Unit website .
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