Bullying & Harassment

Harassment targets the 9 protected characteristics in the Equality Act. These characteristics are:

• Race
• Sex
• Disability
• Religion and belief
• Sexual orientation
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity

Whilst there is no legal definition of bullying there is still some Law and guidance that business settings must regard. Most bullying incidents are not crimes. But some types of bullying are illegal and should be reported to the police. This includes bullying that involves violence or assault; theft; harassment and intimidation over a period of time including calling someone names or threatening them, making abusive phone calls, and sending abusive emails or text messages (one incident is not normally enough to get a conviction); and anything involving hate crimes.

Here are some of the signs to look out for if you think you or someone else is being bullied/harassed:

• Taking responsibilities away from you
• Exclusion or being ignored
• Rumours spreading with or without your knowledge
• Constant criticism
• Managers/leaders that misuse their power and intimidate or belittle
• Being made to feel guilty, constant jokes, and being picked on
• Unwelcome sexual advances
• Threats of job security
• Stopping you from progressing in your job

• They are picking on someone – ignoring them, too much supervision, leaving them out, disregarding what they say, the list can go on for this category.
• They are always telling on someone – they will snitch on anything they do and constantly brag to everyone about the other person’s mistake. Or you point the finger at the same person once again, when it was your fault.
• They openly make fun of other people – taking the ‘mickey’ out of someone in front of everyone to try and get other people to rally around you.
• They point out your mistakes and make sure everyone knows about them.
• They insult any personal characteristics like looks or personality

The above is not a definitive list.