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Acas, which provides free and impartial information and advice to employers and employees on all aspects of workplace relations and employment law, has published a consultation that highlights the prevalence of bullying in the workplace.
The service has received around 20,000 calls about bullying in 2014/15, with the majority of calls coming from employees - only 5% of calls were from employers. The immediate effect in the workplace can include low morale and stressed employees leading to absenteeism. The wider knock on effects can be far reaching; Acas estimates that turnover and lost productivity in 2007 came to £13.75 billion together with a 1.5% reduction in UK productivity.
Acas defines bullying as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient. Some groups were found to be more affected than others, including ethnic minority workers in the public sector, workers with disabilities and women in traditionally male-dominated roles.
The risk to employers for failing to deal with workplace bullying are potential constructive dismissal claims, if an employee resigns on the basis that the employer’s action (or lack of) have breached the trust and confidence between employer and employee. Furthermore, if the bullying relates to one of the ‘protected characteristics’ under the Equality Act (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation) then there is risk of a claim under the Equality Act.
What should employers be doing to tackle this growing problem?
The first step is to have in place clear grievance and anti-harassment policies, setting out acceptable levels of behaviour and clear reporting lines so employees know who they can speak to in the event that they are being bullied. The policies should assist with dealing with complaints as they should set out a clear procedure for managers to follow. Grievances should be taken seriously and investigated in an independent and objective way. In some cases an informal approach will be sufficient, in others mediation may help the parties involved to find a solution. Ultimately if it is not possible to deal with the situation informally, it may be necessary to commence a formal disciplinary against the perpetrators, and in the most serious cases a period of suspension may be necessary to allow an investigation to take place.