The Protection from Harassment Act 1997

[ch 3: pages 40-41]

It is possible to bring a legal claim under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA 97) for very severe workplace bullying. However, the practical and legal barriers to this kind of claim are very considerable.

The PHA 97 was originally designed to target stalkers, but in Majrowski v Guy’s Hospital NHS Trust [2006] UKHL 34, the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court) confirmed that in some circumstances, the PHA 97 can be used to claim compensation for workplace bullying.

For this kind of claim, harassment must:

• amount to a “course of conduct” (i.e. must involve more than just one incident);

• target the victim;

• be intended to cause the victim alarm or distress; and

• be very serious conduct, crossing the boundary between “unattractive and even unreasonable conduct” to become “oppressive” and “of an order that would sustain criminal liability”.

In Veakins v Kier Islington Limited [2010] IRLR 132, the Court of Appeal confirmed that in the “great majority of cases”, the correct place to pursue a remedy for “high-handed or discriminatory conduct” is the employment tribunal, not the civil and criminal courts.

The limitation period for a claim under the PHA 97 is six years. Any member considering a claim under the PHA 97 should take legal advice.