Incidents of workplace bullying are at an all-time high and according to ACAS, the financial impact of bullying related absenteeism, from loss of turnover and productivity, equates to billions per year!

Bullying and harassment creates an unhappy and unproductive workplace with the result being that employers may have:

• poor morale and employee relations;
• a loss of respect for managers;
• poor performance/lost productivity;
• high absence levels; and
• resignations and consequent employment tribunal cases.

Employers need to be proactive in dealing with bullying complaints to avoid losing good employees. Many employees who feel that they have no option but to resign due to the treatment that they have received go on to pursue constructive dismissal (forced resignation) claims and in some instances, costly discrimination claims. Forced resignations can however be avoided if an employer deals with bullying allegations swiftly and appropriately.

Many employers have in place anti-harassment and bullying procedures. However, putting these procedures into effect is not easy particularly when it seems that employees will not be able to work with one another going forward. Bullying complaints can also become more complicated if an employee alleges they are being discriminated against contrary to the Equality Act  2010  and for example, that they are being bullied due to a “protected characteristic” such as their sex, sexual orientation, age or race. The complainant or the alleged perpetrator may also go on long-term sick leave and claim that they have a “disability” due to workplace stress.