Representing a member accused of bullying

Many of the points outlined above apply equally if you are asked to represent a member accused of bullying or harassment. In particular:

• Offer support and reassurance — remember there are two sides to every story.

• If necessary, ask for help from a more experienced rep.

• Investigate whether any occupational health provision or counselling is provided by the employer.

• An accusation of bullying or harassment, if upheld, can have very serious disciplinary consequences, including suspension, forced relocation and summary dismissal. You can find up-to-date guidance on supporting members in the LRD booklet Disciplinary and grievance procedures (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/publications.php?pub=BK&iss=1790).

• Too often, employers who find evidence of bullying or harassment use draconian punishments such as summary dismissal in order to demonstrate their commitment to zero tolerance, without making sure the response is appropriate to the offence. Acas says that punishments should be proportionate. Reps can play a valuable role, in particular by discussing options with the member, and highlighting to the employer a member’s willingness to learn and change their behaviour.

The public and commercial services PCS union advises its reps that members accused of bullying are equally entitled to representation and reps approached to assist someone accused of bullying will also need to understand the employer’s procedure and how any investigation will be carried out:

“Do not take sides — your role is to ensure that the accused member is dealt with fairly and, if found to have been guilty of bullying, any mitigating circumstances, such as increased pressures to deliver excessive workloads from insufficient resources and lack of adequate person management skill training, are identified as part of any disciplinary process,” it advises. “The member should be advised to accept counselling and training on appropriate behaviour if the complaint is upheld.”

It also offers the following advice where the union is asked to represent both parties to a complaint: They should have separate representation; the representatives should be of similar levels of seniority and experience; and witnesses may also request representation during questioning. “You should make sure that both parties feel that the representation arrangements are fair and even-handed,” it says.

Don’ts:

• No matter how difficult it becomes to put up with the behaviour, reps should strongly advise the member to avoid the temptation to take to social media (for example, Facebook and Twitter) to discuss either problems at work, or work generally. Union reps’ caseloads are increasingly full of examples of staff facing disciplinary action for social media use. The fact that settings are “private”, or that the employer or the bully are not identified by name, will not necessarily avoid disciplinary action.

• Advise members to avoid making personal use of the employer’s email system, and in particular, avoid using it to share stories of bullying and harassment with workmates. Email traffic and computer use is likely to be monitored by many employers, and emails disparaging the bully to colleagues, where picked up, are likely to have disciplinary consequences, no matter how badly the bully is behaving.