Tackling bullying and harassment at work (May 2024)

Chapter 2

Personal injury claims

[page 31]

Where bullying or harassment results in psychiatric injury that the employer should have foreseen, it may sometimes be possible to bring a claim for personal injury in the civil courts. Legal advice should be sought. There is a three-year deadline for bringing personal injury claims in the civil courts, but it is very important not to leave seeking advice until the last minute, especially as the member is likely to need expert help making sure they have good evidence to show that the bullying incidents took place, expert medical evidence as to the effect of the bullying, and detailed financial evidence of the losses suffered. In particular, to succeed, a claimant must prove that their employer should have been aware there was a risk the bullying behaviour would cause them psychiatric injury.


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