Articles by McGrigors
29 April 2005
Time to close in on bullying
by Sue Gilchrist
(Published The Scotsman)
With the allegations of systematic bullying at Deepcut Army Barracks, and recent press comment on abusive footballers, it seems the visibility of bullying and aggressive behaviour is high. While it is predominantly associated with children, bullying is not exclusive to schools, and is still prevalent in the workplace.
Whether it takes the form of publicly dressing down a junior member of staff, abusive behaviour, threats, or even physical violence, numerous employees have brought cases in the courts and employment tribunals citing bullying and harassment as grounds for a claim against their employers.
It is therefore in everyone’s interests, employers and employees alike, to ensure that bullying doesn’t occur in the workplace. Intimidating behaviour will usually have a significant impact on the business and can lead to a loss of morale, lost working days, negative impact on turnover or retention of staff and poor staff performance.
An employer that allows bullying to occur in the workplace, without taking action to address it, is also at risk of finding itself before an employment tribunal or the courts, with the possible outcome of having to pay compensation to the aggrieved individual.
As the law stands, it is not possible for employees to make direct complaints to employment tribunals about bullying without first resigning. However, cases of bullying may also amount to harassment in terms of prohibited discrimination on grounds of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.
The usual limit on compensation of £56,800, which applies in unfair dismissal cases, does not apply to cases of discrimination. Case law also supports the assertion that successful discrimination cases may yield high awards - pay-outs in excess of £100,000 are not uncommon.
In addition, employees may also raise claims against their employers before a Sheriff Court or the Court of Session for psychiatric harm suffered as a result of bullying behaviour. Where employees have been successful, compensation can be very high.
In one case, an employee who was subjected to bullying by a colleague complained to his personnel manager about the behaviour. The personnel manager told the managing director, who did nothing to assist the complaining employee.
Eventually, the employees were separated and the complainant was demoted and suffered an adverse psychological reaction. The employer admitted liability on the third day of the court case, the judge agreed with the employer’s admission and awarded the complaining employee £327,500 plus costs.
New legislation is also opening the door to claims in the courts. A recent English case, which involved a clinical audit co-ordinator who accused his departmental manager of bullying him, has confirmed that employers may be held vicariously liable for the actions of employees under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 - legislation which was originally intended to deal with stalking.
Employers need to be aware that claims can be raised against them in relation to workplace bullying under a variety of guises and in a number of different forums. Employers who do not take appropriate action to deal with bullying in the workplace not only risk being sued for damage to physical or mental health caused to employees, but also risk the possibility of adverse publicity.
For further information please contact:
peopleservices@mcgrigors.com
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