The recent allegations of bullying within Gordon Brown’s office brings to the fore the ongoing problem of bullying in the workplace.

Employers who do not deal properly with workplace bullying may find themselves with de-motivated staff and increased levels of stress-related absence, and this is a problem which employers would be wise to tackle head on.

What can be defined as bullying?
Firstly, it is important to note that legitimate and constructive criticism of an employee’s performance or behaviour at work does not constitute bullying. Employers should be able to address issues that arise in relation to their employees in a calm and rational manner without fear of redress.

However, some examples of behaviours that may be seen as bullying are:

• Shouting, swearing, sarcasm or ridicule towards employees
• Physical or psychological threats
• Overbearing or intimidating levels of supervision
• Derogatory remarks about employees’ performance
• Deliberately excluding employees from meetings, communications or social events.

Whilst it is more often the case that employees are bullied by their supervisors or managers, employers should also be mindful of situations where bullying could occur within peer groups and should take steps to address these situations where they arise.

Employers’ liability for bullying in the workplace
Employers may be liable for bullying, either directly or vicariously, if the bullying takes place by employees in the course of their employment. This extends to social events, business trips or other events organised for or on behalf of the employer. There are a number of claims that employees can bring against employers who do not take appropriate steps to deal with bullying in the workplace, and employers who turn a blind eye to these issues can face large compensation payments as a result.

These may include discrimination claims - if the employee alleges that the bullying is as a result of his/her gender, race or disability. Contractual claims may arise when an employee claims that an employer’s failure to adequately deal with a bullying situation is a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence - entitling the employee to resign and bring a claim for constructive unfair dismissal.

In situations where employees have felt forced to resign or take long periods of stress-related sick leave, they will often resort to taking legal action. Whilst employees can include as a respondent any individual they consider personally responsible for the bullying, they will almost always sue their employer as well, simply because they will be awarded larger payments if their claims succeed.

Management of bullying in the workplace
The law does not require employers to have a separate policy to tackle bullying in the workplace and often the issue can be dealt with under the company’s existing grievance procedure and/or equal opportunities policy. However, with the ongoing expansion of anti-discrimination law and increased rights for employees at work being the current trend, many employers are drafting separate policies to deal with bullying. This can be very useful because in recognising the sensitivity and seriousness of these complaints, employers faced with legal proceedings may find it easier to show that they took “reasonable steps” to prevent bullying, by having a specific policy.  Therefore, the employer will be better able to defend such claims brought by employees.

A robust policy on bullying will include:

• details of how employees should raise issues of bullying
• how their complaints will be investigated and dealt with
• examples of what sort of behaviour could constitute bullying.

Managers and supervisors should be trained to spot signs of bullying and how to manage it if and when it arises. Ideally separate guidelines should set out what is expected of managers. This is also another “reasonable step” an employer could use as a defence to any such claim involving bullying in the workplace

Employers should ensure all employees are aware that bullying will not be tolerated and will be dealt with as a very serious issue. This in turn should lead to a more productive and motivated workforce.