Sacred Bliss

Bullying and Harassment at work.

Many people experience unpleasant treatment at work at the hands of
their managers and fellow colleagues. The problem is, how do you know
whether this amounts to bullying or harassment? And, even it does, what
can you do about it?
What is bullying and harassment?
Unpleasant treatment does not automatically amount to bullying and/or
harassment. It is important to remember that being treated in an
unpleasant way does not necessarily mean you will be successful in
bringing a claim:
Bullying – A wide range of misconduct. It can be summarised as offensive,
intimidating, malicious, insulting behaviour or conduct intended to
humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient. Whatever form this takes, it is
behaviour that is unwarranted and unwelcome to the individual.
Harassment – Unwanted conduct which violates the dignity of an
individual in the workplace or which creates an intimidating, hostile,
degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. The
comments or behaviour must be viewed as demeaning and unacceptable
to the individual. Harassment can also have a specific meaning under
different pieces of legislation.
Bullying and harassment at work can take many forms.
Some of the most obvious examples are:
Managers/supervisors may subject you (as their subordinate) • to humiliation
and ridicule, make unjustified criticisms, set impossible deadlines, impose an
excessive amount of work, remove your responsibilities, give you menial and
pointless tasks to carry out, refuse your requests for leave or block your
promotion
• A fellow employee (of the same grade as you) may bully or harass you by
engaging in conduct involving threats, abuse, teasing, practical jokes, banter,
unwelcome gifts and physical assault
• Groups of employees may victimise you (an individual employee)
• A more unusual (although not uncommon) situation is that you may be
bullied by equal or junior colleagues, as opposed to the classic scenario of
abuse of power by line management
Discrimination and harassment

It is not possible to bring a direct complaint of bullying to an Employment
Tribunal, but you may be able to bring complaints under laws dealing with
discrimination and harassment. For example:

Sex – The Sex Discrimination Act protects individuals against
discrimination and victimisation on the grounds of sex, marriage or gender
reassignment. For more detailed guidance on sex discrimination see the

Race – The Race Relations Act and associated legislation gives similar
protection against harassment on the grounds of colour, nationality, and
ethnic or national origin.

Disability – The Disability Discrimination Act provides similar protection
against victimisation for those with a disability.

Sexual Orientation – Regulations give protection to individuals against
discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Religion and Belief – Discrimination and harassment on the grounds of
religion or belief are also outlawed by regulation.

Age – Discrimination and harassment on the grounds of age is also unlawful.
”Age Concerns”, “Age Discrimination in Recruitment and Selection”, “Age
Discrimination and Redundancy,” ”Age Discrimination and Benefits” and
”Age Discrimination and Pensions”

All of the above claims are claims that should be brought in an
Employment Tribunal.

As the victim of bullying and harassment it is also possible for you to bring
a claim in the County Court. Bringing a case in the County Court may be
your only option, if the bullying or harassment you have suffered is not
covered by one of the prohibited grounds of discrimination set out above.
The same is true if you have missed the strict time limits (normally three
months less one day) for bringing an Employment Tribunal claim.

To get help with Harrassement & Bullying you could see:

• A Counsellor
• A Psychotherapist
• A Hypnotherapist
• An Employment Tribunual
• A School Counsellor