Other protections

There may be other ways of enforcing a right to protection against third party harassment. For example, organisations can be liable for the bullying carried out by non-employees under their direction — such as volunteers, agency workers or employees of facilities management companies — under a change to the law of vicarious liability (see pages 244-246).

In an extreme case, a worker may be able to bring a case under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (see below).

Information on how unions have tackled bullying and harassment can be found in the LRD booklets, Tackling bullying and harassment at work — a guide for union reps and workers and Tackling sexual harassment at work — a guide for union reps. They provide step-by-step guidance looking at how reps can help members deal with bullying, harassment and sexual harassment, including making and handling complaints, as well as ensuring that procedures are fair to all concerned. The TUC has published online guidance, Bullying at work — guidance for safety representatives.