International Stand Up to Bullying Day 23 February

Thursday, 22 February 2024

Stand Up to Bullying Day is a day where organisations, schools and members of the public come together to take a collective stand against bullying.  Although there is no legal definition of bullying, it can be described as unwanted behaviour from a person or group that is either:

  • offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting
  • an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone

Bullying can affect any workplace and can come from any area of the workplace, whether it’s a difficult boss, an intimidating coworker, or a disrespectful client. Recent research suggests that bullying has been experienced by many, for example, 15% of UK employees reported experience of bullying in the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) report on Managing Conflict in the Modern Workplace, which was twice as many as those who reported concerns about harassment.

Harassment, is defined by the Equality Act 2010 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. Bullying that's not classed as harassment could still lead to other legal issues, for example, severe bullying could contribute towards constructive dismissal.

The Advisory, Consolation and Arbitration Service (Acas) provide advice and guidance on dealing with problems at work including Bullying at work, examples of bullying in the workplace include:

  • constantly criticising someone's work
  • spreading malicious rumours about someone
  • constantly putting someone down in meetings
  • deliberately giving someone a heavier workload than everyone else
  • excluding someone from team social events
  • putting humiliating, offensive or threatening comments or photos on social media

Bullying can also happen from staff towards someone more senior, for example a manager. Examples of 'upward bullying' or 'subordinate bullying' include:

  • showing continued disrespect
  • refusing to complete tasks
  • spreading rumours
  • constantly undermining someone's authority
  • doing things to make someone seem unskilled or unable to do their job properly

 

Employer responsibilities

Employers are responsible for preventing bullying and harassment. In her article on Stand Up to Bullying Day – A Guide for Employers | LinkedIn, Rachel Duncan shares three main steps that employers can take to prevent and address bullying and harassment in the workplace including:

Putting in place an Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy - to make it clear that bullying and harassment will not be tolerated and will be treated as a disciplinary offence. The policy should also outline reporting procedures so that victims can easily access information about how to report incidents of bullying and harassment.  

Maintaining appropriate procedures for dealing with employee complaints - ensure disciplinary and grievance procedures are up to date and operate effectively alongside the anti-harassment and bullying policy. Every complaint should be taken seriously and dealt with fairly, confidentially and sensitively. When investigating a complaint, employers should undertake an objective and independent investigation into the behaviour complained of and take any disciplinary action that may be required, in accordance with the disciplinary policy.

Setting standards of behaviour - issue a statement to all staff addressing standards of behaviour so that all staff know what is expected of them. Employees should be encouraged to report incidents of bullying and/or harassment in accordance with internal procedures and to set a good example with their own behaviour. Training courses can help address these issues with staff.

CIPD and Acas have produced the following guidance for employers:

Bullying is never acceptable, and we all have a part to play in standing up against it. Our actions can make a difference and help stop bullying at home, at school and in the workplace.

 

Lizzy Turek

Client Research Associate

International Stand Up to Bullying Day 23 February