Workplace Bullying

Acas defines workplace bullying as behaviour that is offensive, intimidating, malicious, or insulting, or an abuse or misuse of power or position that undermines, humiliates, or injures the victim. Examples include:

• Constant unwarranted criticism or belittling of work in front of colleagues
• Deliberately excluding someone from meetings or communications
• Setting impossible targets or changing goalposts
• Shouting, swearing at, or humiliating an employee
• Spreading malicious rumours
• Unfair blame for problems or mistakes

It is important to distinguish bullying from firm but fair management. An employer giving constructive feedback, managing performance, or setting challenging (but achievable) goals is not bullying. The key factors are whether the behaviour is reasonable, whether it is persistent, and whether it is targeted at an individual in a way that undermines them.

If the bullying is connected to a protected characteristic — such as race, sex, disability, or age — it may also constitute harassment under the Equality Act 2010, opening additional legal routes.

If you are being bullied at work, the following steps are important:

1. Keep a detailed log: Record every incident — dates, times, what was said or done, and any witnesses. This contemporaneous record is essential evidence if you later need to take formal action.
2. Check your employer's policy: Most employers have an anti-bullying or dignity at work policy. Review it and understand the procedure for raising concerns.
3. Try informal resolution first: If you feel safe doing so, speak to the person about their behaviour. Sometimes people are unaware of the impact of their conduct. Alternatively, speak informally to a manager or HR.
4. Raise a formal grievance: If informal steps do not resolve the matter, submit a written grievance under your employer's grievance procedure. State the facts clearly and request a formal investigation. Keep a copy.
5. Seek support: Your GP can help if the bullying is affecting your health. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), where available, offer confidential counselling. Acas's helpline offers free advice.

If your employer fails to address bullying adequately, you have several legal options:

• Employment Tribunal — harassment claim: If the bullying is linked to a protected characteristic (Equality Act 2010), you can bring a harassment claim. There is a three-month time limit from the last act of harassment.
• Employment Tribunal — constructive dismissal: If the bullying is so severe that you feel you have no choice but to resign, you may be able to claim constructive unfair dismissal. You must have two years' service and must resign in response to a fundamental breach of the employment contract (typically the implied term of mutual trust and confidence).
• Personal injury claim: If you have suffered psychiatric injury as a result of bullying, you may have a civil claim for personal injury against your employer. This is a complex area requiring specialist legal advice.

Always notify Acas and go through Early Conciliation before bringing any Employment Tribunal claim. Time limits are strict.

Acas publishes detailed guidance on bullying and harassment at work which is used by employers, HR professionals, and tribunals as a reference point for what reasonable workplace behaviour looks like. Acas defines bullying as offensive, intimidating, malicious, or insulting behaviour, or an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or injures the recipient. While Acas guidance is not legally binding, Employment Tribunals consider it when assessing whether an employer has handled a bullying or harassment complaint reasonably.

Many employers also have a dignity at work policy (sometimes called a bullying and harassment policy or respect at work policy). If your employer has such a policy, it is important to use it — it sets out the procedure for reporting concerns and creates a framework within which the employer is expected to investigate and respond. Failure to follow your own dignity at work policy is something the Employment Tribunal will scrutinise if a case is brought.

The legal test for harassment under the Equality Act 2010 is distinct from general bullying. Under section 26 of the Equality Act, harassment occurs when a person engages in unwanted conduct that relates to a protected characteristic (such as age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment) and the conduct has the purpose or effect of:

• Violating the person's dignity, or
• Creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment

The key elements of the test are: the conduct must be unwanted (even if intended as banter); it must relate to a protected characteristic (a connection is sufficient — it does not have to be motivated by hostility); and its effect must be assessed from both an objective and subjective standpoint — would a reasonable person find it offensive, and did the claimant find it offensive?

There is also a specific form of sexual harassment under section 26(2) — unwanted conduct of a sexual nature — and a further provision under section 26(3) covering less favourable treatment because of a worker's rejection of or submission to harassment. Since the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, employers now have a strengthened proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can take enforcement action where this duty is not met.

If you believe bullying at your workplace amounts to harassment under the Equality Act, raise it in your grievance as a harassment complaint — not merely a bullying complaint. This framing matters because it opens the door to an Employment Tribunal harassment claim if the matter is not resolved internally.