Harassment and bullying at work

The spectrum of workplace incivility and unfair treatment

Bullying and harassment occur at the more severe end of the workplace incivility spectrum. Read our evidence review on workplace incivility and bullying for more detail on workplace incivility.

In the UK, under the Equality Act 2010, unlawful harassment is defined as: "unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual". The relevant protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation. Bullying is not specifically defined in UK law but Acas says bullying may be characterised as offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone.  

People have the right to be treated with dignity and respect at work and organisations should take any form of unfair treatment, including harassment or bullying, seriously. People professionals should lead on developing a positive and inclusive culture that doesn't tolerate any form of unfair treatment.

Unfair treatment and behaviour

Unfair treatment such as bullying and harassment may be against one or more people and may involve single or repeated incidents across a wide spectrum of behaviour, ranging from extreme forms of intimidation, such as physical violence, to more subtle forms, such as ignoring someone. Examples include:

• Unwelcome remarks about personal matters.
• Isolation or non-cooperation and exclusion from social activities.
• Persistent unwarranted criticism.
• Personal insults.

Unfair treatment can be in person but can also include cyber bullying such as use of the internet, mobile technology, social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms or mobile phones to harass, bully or cause harm to another.

Harassment 

In Great Britain, harassment because of a protected characteristic (like someone's age, disability, race, religion or belief) is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 (the act). Sexual harassment is also unlawful under the act. 

Harassment which is entirely unrelated to a protected characteristic is not covered by the act. Compliance with the EHRC Technical Guidance on protecting employees from harassment is addressed in the employment law content. 

Whilst not imposing legal obligations themselves, the EHRC codes in this area give important guidance on good practice and legal compliance, and failure to follow them may be taken into account by tribunals or courts. 

The law protects individuals from harassment by their employer because of a protected characteristic while applying for a job, in employment and in some circumstances after the working relationship has ended, for example, in connection with the provision of a verbal or written reference. Employers must also prevent harassment of their employees by ‘third parties’.

There's also protection for people against harassment on the basis of their membership or non-membership of a trade union and, in Northern Ireland, against harassment on the basis of political belief. In England and Wales, harassment because of political views isn't always automatically protected, although employees who are dismissed because of their political opinions don't need two years’ service to bring an unfair dismissal claim.

Sexual harassment  

In addition to the duty not to sexually harass employees, employers have a separate, anticipatory duty to  take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment, including by third parties, and comes with updated EHRC technical guidance in this area. Failure to comply with this duty could lead to uplifted compensation awards in sexual harassment claims against an employer, or investigation by the EHRC, even if there has been no complaint of sexual harassment to a tribunal. 

Read our guidance on how employers should respond to sexual harassment complaints.  

Raising sexual harassment that has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur can amount to a protected disclosures under whistleblowing law. Whistleblowing (making a protected disclosure) must be in the public interest. Anyone witnessing or knowing about the sexual harassment can raise concerns - not just the people who experience it.

Bullying 

The UK legal position on bullying is more complex as there's no single piece of legislation which deals with workplace bullying. Crucially, an employee can bring a tribunal claim about behaviour which is ‘bullying’ even if it is not linked to a protected characteristic. Bullying may be covered by: 

• The Equality Act 2010, if it is linked to a protected characteristic, and amounts to discrimination or harassment. 
• The Employment Rights Act 1996, especially the ‘detriment’ provisions. 
• Claims for breach of an express or implied term of the employment contract - for example, breach of the implied term to take care of employees. 
• Criminal or civil provisions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1998. 

Bullying might also be covered by a myriad of other legal principles and laws, for example: 

• The common law obligation for an employer to take care of workers’ safety. 
• Personal injury protection and duties to take care of workers arising out of Tort law. 
• Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. 
• Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. 
• Whistleblower protections. 
• Human Rights Act 1998. 

Bullying and harassment are still a serious concern in many workplaces.

Employers should conduct risk assessments and use other tools such as staff surveys to identify areas of risk, and action plans to address risks effectively. They should put in place a well-communicated policy and guidance that clearly states the organisation’s commitment to promoting dignity and respect at work. Employers’ responsibilities extend to work-related activities outside the workplace, such as work parties or team outings. 

All individuals have a responsibility to behave in ways which support an inclusive and tolerant working environment. Everyone should play their part in making the organisation’s policy a reality, and managers should challenge inappropriate behaviour and take action. 

Developing a climate of respect

Promoting a positive and inclusive climate at work based on dignity and respect will help to prevent inappropriate behaviour. Senior leaders should demonstrate strong values that communicate what a climate of dignity and respect looks like, and role-model appropriate behaviour at all times. 

Policies, communication and training

A well-designed policy is essential to tackling bullying and harassment. Policies and guidance should be agreed with trade union and/or employee representatives and communicated to everyone. They should, for example:

• Communicate a clear organisational position on bullying and harassment, and explain why such behaviours will not be tolerated.
• Give examples of what constitutes unfair treatment, including bullying and harassment, as well as examples of behaviour that can take place across a wide spectrum of unacceptable conduct.
• Explain the damaging effects of bullying and harassment, for example, on people’s health and wellbeing as well as employee morale and the organisation’s performance.
• Define the policy’s scope, for example, applicability to agency and freelance staff, while also addressing third-party harassment and work-related situations outside normal working hours.
• Explain how to raise concerns if an employee experiences or witnesses bullying or harassment, as well as the procedure to make a formal complaint.
• Make clear that allegations of bullying and harassment will be treated speedily, seriously and confidentially.
• State that all complaints will be investigated thoroughly and treated as a disciplinary offence where a case is proven.
• Clarify the roles and responsibilities of all employee groups, including line managers, for upholding expected standards of behaviour.

All employees should:

• Be made aware - through induction, training and guidance - about their rights and personal responsibilities and understand the organisation’s commitment to dealing with bullying and harassment.
• Know who to contact if they want to discuss their experiences to decide what steps to take.
• Know how to make a complaint and the timescales for any formal procedures.

The policy should be monitored and regularly reviewed for effectiveness.

It is essential that line managers have regular training and understand their role in addressing all forms of inappropriate behaviour, and that they have access to advice and support from HR with appropriate confidentiality. Policies should specify a choice of contact if the line manager is the alleged harasser or bully.

There is more in our Dealing with conflict at work guide.

Where possible, organisations should encourage people to resolve conflict informally, at the earliest possible stage. This approach is more effective because it helps to prevent disagreements from escalating and developing into more serious disputes.

All complaints should be dealt with promptly. 

Our research on tackling bullying and harassment shows that a significant number of organisations are open to using an independent third party to help resolve workplace conflict. Mediation, for example, is a voluntary impartial process and can be used in alleged bullying and harassment cases where both parties are willing to participate and the complaint isn't not at the serious end of the spectrum.

If informal approaches are not appropriate, formal procedures should be triggered. 

Anti-bullying and harassment policies should align with the organisation's policy for dealing with grievances and disciplinary issues, clearly defining what constitutes gross misconduct. IT policies should also be co-ordinated, explicitly prohibiting the use of workplace systems for online harassment or bullying.

Investigation

Formal allegations of harassment, bullying or any intimidating behaviour should be thoroughly investigated, including:

• Providing a timescale for resolving the problem.
• A prompt, thorough and impartial response.
• Taking evidence from witnesses.
• Listening to both the alleged harasser and the complainant’s version of events.
• Confidentiality in the majority of cases.

All sensitive information should be treated confidentially and meet the requirements of data protection law.

Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)

NDAs should never be used to cover up inappropriate behaviour and wrongdoing, such as harassment. People professionals have an important role to play in ensuring the ethical use of NDAs and that they are never used as a means to silence alleged complainants of unfair treatment, such as bullying and harassment. Our employer survey found that just over a fifth (22%) of employers use NDAs if dealing with allegations of sexual harassment. Acas guidance makes clear that confidentiality clauses should not be used as a matter of routine and that there are many circumstances where it may be inappropriate and/or unlawful to use confidentiality clauses. Confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements will always be unenforceable where they attempt to hide something that cannot legally be kept confidential. 

Contacts

Acas - Discrimination, bullying and harassment

GOV.UK - Workplace bullying and harassment

Equalities and Human Rights Commission – What is harassment?

Sexual Harassment at Work - legal advice telephone helpline provided by charity Rights of Women

TUC – Reporting work-related violence

Books and reports

Young, J. and Gifford, J. (2022) Bullying and incivility at work: an evidence review. Practice summary and recommendations. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Journal articles

Aldridge, C., Pugh, A. and Dougan, V. (2024) New EHRC guidance on preventing workplace sexual harassment. People Management (online). 29 July. 

Jackson, I. (2024) Worker Protection Act: how should employers prepare? People Management (online). 27 August. 

CIPD members can use our online journals to find articles from over 300 journal titles relevant to HR.

Members and People Management subscribers can see articles on the People Management website.