Bullying in work
The terms ‘bullying’ and ‘harassment’ are sometimes bundled together to describe a particular behaviour. Legally, they are distinct as there is no definition of bullying in the legislation covering employment law, unlike harassment which is clearly defined in the Equality Act 2010.
However, what should you do when an employee says they are being bullied or harassed? Sometimes it may be employees within a team that do not get on, there may be no specific problem or issue that causes the problem, they may just have incompatible personalities.
It could be a manager being blamed by an employee for picking on them all the time. One person’s bullying and over-bearing manager is another person’s hard-working and diligent manager trying their best to deal with an under-performing or work-shy employee. You need to decide which one it is by conducting an impartial investigation into the issues.
In their report entitled, ‘Managing Conflict in the Modern Workplace’ (2020) the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said conflict was a common occurrence at work and 35% of employees surveyed said they had experienced some form of interpersonal conflict during the previous year.
ACAS stated, in its ‘Estimating the costs of workplace conflict’ that nearly 10 million people per year experience conflict in work. They estimate that conflict-related sickness absence costs employers £2.2 billion each year.
It’s important not to ignore such problems and to take steps to resolve issues. If it cannot be resolved informally, Mediation is one way to deal with it.
If the dissatisfied employee has raised a Grievance you need to follow your internal procedures to resolve the complaint. The outcome may result in a Disciplinary Hearing needing to be held. Failure to comply with the procedure can result in an award of damages being made against you at an Employment Tribunal.
A Settlement Agreement may be the best outcome if one of the parties remains disgruntled to the extent they consider submitting a claim to a Tribunal.
Handling such matters incorrectly can have dire consequences for the business and could result in allegations that the matter wasn’t conducted properly, that the outcome was a foregone conclusion, or it was merely a tick box exercise.
At My Legal HR we are experts at dealing with such matters. We will come to your premises and conduct the matter correctly, impartially, and professionally. We are a fresh pair of eyes looking at the matter, we establish the facts and apply the law to the situation before recommending an outcome.
We remove the stress and anxiety such meetings can have on managers as well as the employees concerned, as it shows you take such matters seriously, and that you are a caring employer who is prepared to find an independent outcome.
Contact us today on 0151 513 3324 for a free, no obligation discussion and let us resolve your workplace issues tomorrow.