11. Stress, bullying, harassment and violence



Key changes and developments since last year


• a university and college lecturers’ UCU union member has won £159,000 in damages in a personal injury stress case against Bradford College;


• women speaking out about the sexual harassment they have experienced in response to the #MeToo campaign have made it clear that the issue remains a huge problem in workplaces across the UK. The Labour Research Department (LRD) has published a new booklet containing information and advice about this issue: Tackling sexual harassment at work — a guide for union reps;


• the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Bill, currently making its way through parliament, will increase the seriousness with which assaults on emergency workers are dealt with by introducing new offences and increased penalties; and


• the Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-Related Sales etc.) (Scotland) Bill will provide “a clear and lower threshold at which obstructive, abusive or threatening behaviour is considered a crime and can be prosecuted by creating new criminal offences for verbal and physical abuse against these workers”.