Have a look at the workplace behaviours below and decide which of them might amount to bullying and harassment.
The simple answer is that all of the above are examples of behaviour that may amount to bullying and harassment.
At the same time, some of these behaviours might, in the right circumstances, be perfectly acceptable.
Bullying and harassment can sometimes be difficult to describe because much depends on individual circumstances.
Within Royal Mail Group, bullying and harassment is defined as:
INAPPROPRIATE and UNWANTED behaviour that could reasonably be perceived by the recipient or any other person as affecting their dignity.
Workplace bullying is intimidation, whether on a regular and persistent basis or as a one-off, which undermines the competence, effectiveness, confidence and integrity of the person on the receiving end. The bully misuses their power, position or knowledge to criticise, humiliate and destroy a subordinate, a colleague or even their own boss.
All of us. We each have a responsibility - to do everything we reasonably can to stamp out bullying and harassment.
Employees found guilty of harassment can be held legally liable for their actions. Managers can also be held personally liable if they do not take action.
There is no upper limit on the compensation that an employment tribunal can order an employer or employee to pay in discrimination cases, and employees do NOT have to leave an organisation before taking their case to tribunal.
Example case
A man is subjected to continual jokes and criticism from his work colleagues because of his racial origins. He complains to both his immediate manager and his second line manager. They do nothing.
Q. What course of action could this man take?
A. Once he has made a formal internal complaint, and if nothing has been done, he could claim constructive dismissal on the grounds of discrimination.
If the organisation had taken reasonable steps to prevent this behaviour from occurring, its liability might be limited and the man could only take action against the individual perpetrator(s) of the harassment.
In this case, however, the victim can take action against both the perpetrator(s) of the harassment and the two managers who failed to do anything to prevent this behaviour from occurring.
