Prevention

The policy should spell out the steps the organisation is taking to prevent bullying and harassment at work.

Public services union UNISON says that the first priority in dealing with harassment and bullying is to eliminate them from the workplace rather than dealing solely with the consequences as this wrongly focuses attention on individuals rather than the culture that has allowed the behaviour to occur in the first place. Employers should deal with workplace bullying and harassment in the same way as any other hazard in the workplace, including undertaking risk assessments and putting in place measures to prevent bullying and harassment occurring (see pages 53-56).