Bullying at Work

What forms of bullying at work could I claim compensation for?

The term bullying is encompassed within a number of different types of harassment at work. These different types are defined within the Equality Act 2010. Here are some examples which may be covered by the Act, they include:

• Impacting on and harming your career progression

• Receiving ongoing criticism and being undermined by managers and team members can be construed as harassment

• Unequal treatment – everyone has the right to be treated equally and fairly at work

• Offensive statements – making jokes to be hurtful or using offensive words is a very recognisable form of bullying at work

• Rumours and gossip spread with malicious intent

What is harassment & bullying?

Harassment

Harassment is defined by the Equality Act 2010 as unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an employee’s dignity or creating an intimidating, degrading or hostile environment for that person. Protected characteristics could be age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

Bullying

Bullying isn’t defined by law, but is characterised by offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour which undermines or humiliates an employee. This can be through the abuse or misuse of power and can take many forms.

Why choose Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors?

Lawyers who are experts

Our team understands the legal complexities involved and we are experts in handling bullying and harassment claims across many different industry sectors.

Solicitors who understand

We appreciate how daunting it can be for an individual to come forward, when they might be deeply upset about their treatment or worried about their career prospects. Our solicitors go out of their way to ensure our clients feel supported and advised every step of the way. We know that each case is different and we pride ourselves on our caring, highly personalised approach.

What outcome can I expect?

If you decide to take a claim to the Employment Tribunal then you may be able to secure compensation, an apology and push for changes in working practice to prevent further incidents in future.

Another option may be to negotiate an exit from your employer by way of a Settlement Agreement and we can guide you through this process.

Featured case

She instructed us following threats by her employer that it would initiate a capability procedure and alleged performance issues against her. Her employer gave her the option to leave the organisation with notice pay and avoid being performance managed or stay and risk being dismissed for capability reasons.

We advised our client to raise a grievance, complaining of the bullying and harassment she had been subjected to. We contested allegations of under performance on her behalf.

Outcome: Within three weeks, we secured a mutual termination for her for a significant sum.