Protect yourself and your business from the workplace bullies

Recent figures from the Chartered Management Institute show that 39% of people in employment have suffered some form of bullying at work during the last three years.

There are three key reasons why employers should be concerned about this issue:-

The economic cost - people who are bullied suffer adverse emotional reactions and their job performance will suffer. There may be increased absenteeism and other employees who see that nothing is being done to address this problem will become de-motivated and may leave.

1. Legal protection exists for staff to take action if they suffer workplace bullying.
2. Staff themselves, as well as the employer, can be personally liable in law and have to pay significant compensation amounting to tens of thousands of pounds.

According to Alan Lewis of the Employment Department, "While there is no specific law in place relating to this very serious issue, there are many aspects of employment law that can be used to prevent bullying in the workplace. For example, the Employment Rights Act contains a section on victimisation, and legislation preventing age, sexual and racial discrimination can be relevant in many cases."

Alan also believes that too many business owners and managers are unaware of their responsibilities: "It is a standard line in many contracts of employment that employers shall give reasonable support to prevent employees suffering from harassment and disruption by fellow workers, but there have been cases of employees successfully taking action against their employers. With Employment Tribunal awards for injury to feelings, as well as for loss of earnings and contractual benefits, this area of law can prove to be expensive for businesses which face claims. Employers should have their policies, practices and training needs reviewed."