Bullying at work - Information for employees dealing with workplace bullying

Workplace bullying in the UK is more common than you might think, the world of business is fast paced and very competitive. High-pressured environments can cultivate morally questionable decision-making. Managers can seem reluctant to do anything to stop the bullying behaviour within their department of organisation. A number of reasons could be preventing your manager from attempting to stop the bullying in your office or place of work. It could be the bully is your manager or a friend of your manager. Quite often they try to rationalise the situation in an attempt to justify the bullying as something else.

Particularly common in a sales environment is tactical acceptance of bullying to achieve targets. Managers often turn a blind eye because the bullies are contributing a profit to the business. In these situation bullying can be ignored or perceived as “motivational”. Short-term gains at your expense may seem OK to them now but the potential cost to staff moral, not to mention the health implications that can present themselves from bullying, will cost them in the long run. Absence from work and sick leave due to stress or depression can have a major impact on the productivity and profitability of a business. It affects the businesses bottom line and even its survival.

Bullying is not OK in any situation, no matter the environment. Bullying is not acceptable if it results in a sale! Bullying has no place at work for businesses that want to be successful. Being bullied by your boss can also increase anxiety levels if you are in fear of repercussions for speaking out. The thought of loosing your job can put an enormous amount of strain on a person.

Firstly we recommend you start collecting as much evidence as you can, this includes keeping a dairy of events to help paint a clear picture of what’s been happening. If you need to recall particular events, having a reliable record will add credibility to your claim of bullying or harassment. If you have one and presuming they are not the bully, go and talk to your HR manager. They will help you. They know your organisation and the people in it better than anyone and they also know the law is there to protect you.

If you don’t have anyone in the business dedicated to employee relations, a human resources or personnel department and you are unable to escalate this to a more senior member of staff. Call us and we will talk you through some of the options available to you

Facing a disciplinary can be scary for anyone. The potential consequence of a formal action against you can be life changing. It not only affects you but your family too. If you have received formal notice to attend a disciplinary related to bullying at work. Your employer should put a formal request in writing, detailing why you have been asked to attend, what you can expect to happen in the meeting and the potential outcome. You should be given enough time to put evidence together for your defence and you are entitled to see any evidence against you prior to the meeting.

You are totally within your rights to be accompanied by a witness but if you can’t find one, remember to take notes during the meeting. These notes could be vital to your case if you have been treated unfairly. You should seek legal advice if you think you have been treated badly and you believe this could constitute Unfair Dismissal. Your employer must follow procedures and have a good reason to dismiss you.

Constructive dismissal is also something a legal expert can advise you on. If you have been forced to leave your position because of your employer’s actions, then you might have a case for constructive dismissal. In some cases, when an employee has been asked to attend a disciplinary, they can also be suspended from duties until the meeting is concluded. In most case you will still receive full pay while you are off work. In some serious cases an employee can be suspended without pay. See your contract of employment for more information regarding dismissal and suspension.

While you are on suspension you are still employed by the company and must act accordingly and your employment rights are not affected during this time. A solicitor would be able to advise you if your case can be taken to an employment tribunal. For more information or advice on what to do next, call 0845 22 55 787

This is an interesting summary of fair reasons to dismiss which we like to ensure all visitors to our website understand.

Allegedly not being able to do your job properly. Before an employer takes this step you should be told that your work is not satisfactory and you should be given a chance to improve; with training and support etc. Look at the Company’s training policy and request support, in writing.

Redundancy is fair in most cases but in some the term redundancy is used inappropriately. Redundancy is where the job you were doing no longer exists for a sound business reason. In Redundancy cases remember this golden rule – it is the job that is made redundant, not the individual. Before making you redundant the employer needs to follow stringent guidelines and ensure there is no alternative role suitable within the organisation.

You may be dismissed legally if it is impossible for you to carry on doing your job and ‘it is neither your fault or the employers fault’ that the contract has to end – e.g. In cases where a factory burns down or where you are diagnosed with a medical condition that prevents you from operating machinery in a warehouse, for example. You can also be dismissed if by continuing to work you would be breaking the law e.g. If you are a lorry driver and you have lost your driving licence.

Here we talk about role of the Representative through the dispute resolution process. In particular we focus on the right of the employee to nominate their own representative at the conciliation stage.

One explanation is that they are looking for attention. Being noticed makes them feel important or powerful. The bully might have feelings of envy or resentment towards a work colleague. It might be they are very insecure about their own position within the business or department.

It may simply be that the bully is not being line managed or worse, the employer condones the behaviour believing it gets results.  In some cases the bully has a hold over senior management, or they are the business owner or related to the business owner.  This category of workplace bully believes they are above the law so does not have to follow process. A classic defence tactic for a bully in either of these scenarios is for the bully to quickly change persona when accused of being a bully, by claiming he or she is the hurt, aggrieved, victim. Bullies can lack empathy or remorse and in most cases, bullies harbour a strong need to control and dominate others.

The personality traits of the bully could be an indication that their behaviour in the office is the result of underlying issues they’ve been coping with for many years. Growing up in an environment where little or no positive interaction with adults is considered normal and in many cases they have been raise by an emotionally unstable or even physically abusive parent or guardian.

From an early age the environment they’ve been subjected to would teach them that vulnerability leads to abuse and the best form of defence is offence. This creates a need for self-preservation and they look to take their own inadequacies out on others. Bullying helps them seize control of a situation or they may feel that some how it compensates for the lack of attention they long for.

Work-related stress is probably the most commonly used diagnosis employees give for long term sickness. Symptoms of stress can include mental health issues including depression and anxiety as well as physical symptoms like fatigue, headaches, and excessive sweating. Find information and advice about common symptoms associated with stress, what your employer can do to help reduce in at work, and how to tackle stress.

Pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks Statutory Maternity Leave if they give the correct notice to the employer. Employees don't have to take 52 weeks if they don't want to. The first 26 weeks is known as ‘Ordinary Maternity Leave’. The last 26 weeks is known as ‘Additional Maternity Leave’. The earliest that leave may be taken is 11 weeks before the due date or expected date of childbirth (unless the baby is born early).Employee’s must take at least 2 weeks leave after the birth or 4 weeks if they work in a factory. Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), can be paid for up to 39 weeks in total, as follows:

• The first 6 weeks: 90% of the average weekly earnings before tax.
• The remaining 33 weeks: £145.18 or 90% of the average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower.
  
  

Tax and National Insurance is deducted.

A claim of automatic unfair dismissal and unlawful Sex Discrimination may be made in an employee suffers ‘less favourable treatment’, detriment or discrimination associated with maternity leave or a return to work programme. For example, to make the post Redundant at the point when the employee expresses a wish to return to the workplace would be deemed to be discrimination if the Redundancy is not proven to be genuine.