3. Recognising bullying and harassment

To tackle bullying and harassment at work, it is necessary to identify the type of behaviour considered unacceptable, and to provide examples so that people understand what is meant by it.

The public and commercial services union PCS says that: “Bullies can be from any background, be of any race or gender, and of any grade, so it is not helpful to draw up a stereotype or profile of the bully.”

However, it says that being able to identify some examples of bullying behaviour may help the rep or the member to recognise when bullying is happening.

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) publishes useful guidance, available in print and online form. Its advice leaflet Bullying and harassment at work: a guide for managers and employers (2014) says that, for practical purposes, bullying and harassment involve something that is “unwelcome, unwarranted and causes a detrimental effect.”

Acas says that there are many different definitions of bullying and harassment, but that bullying may be characterised as: “Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, an abuse or misuse of power through means that undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient.”

While there is no legal definition of bullying, “harassment” is defined in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 10) as: “Unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.” (See Chapter 2 for a description of the law on bullying and harassment.)

The key to both concepts is that the behaviour is “unwanted” and Acas says: “If employees complain they are being bullied or harassed, then they have a grievance which must be dealt with regardless of whether or not their complaint accords with a standard definition.”

Bullying may take place over a period of time, but it can also occur as a single, grossly offensive act — and some legal cases involving claims of harassment have concluded that a single incident amounts to unlawful harassment (see Chapter 2).