Both bullying and harassment are entirely unacceptable in the workplace. Bullying involves negative behaviour being targeted at an individual, or individuals, repeatedly and persistently over time, whilst harassment is unwanted behaviour that violates a person’s dignity or creates a hostile environment and is related to something personal about the individual such as their race, gender or age etc.
Examples of bullying or harassing behaviour
Examples of bullying or harassment include:
- spreading malicious rumours
- unfair treatment
- picking on or belittling someone
- regularly undermining a competent worker or setting them up to fail
- denying someone training or promotion opportunities
Where could it happen?
Bullying and harassment can happen:
- face-to-face
- by phone, text or messaging
- On social networks
- by email or letter
- In and out of work hours
When is it harassment?
Harassment is when the unwanted behaviour is focussing on one or more of the following:
- age
- sex
- disability
- gender (including gender reassignment)
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sexual orientation
Recognising signs of bullying and harassment
It’s important to be able to identify potential signs of bullying and harassment in your workplace. Look out for:
- An employee suddenly experiencing changes in behaviour or mood, such as becoming withdrawn, anxious, or irritable
- Decreased productivity or quality of work
- Increased absenteeism or frequent sick leaves
- An employee being consistently excluded or absent from meetings or social events
- Crying, anger outbursts, or visible nervousness around certain colleagues
- Physical symptoms like headaches, sleep problems, or unexplained pain
- High turnover in a particular department or team
Remember, these signs don’t necessarily mean bullying or harassment is occurring, but they warrant further investigation.
New legal requirement to assess the risk of sexual harassment
Note that, as of 26 October 2024, there is an additional legal requirement relating to sexual harassment in the workplace. This requirement is for employers (and line managers) to proactively assess the risk of sexual harassment of employees in the course of their work. Here is our guide to the new legislation and what you need to consider.
What should I do next?
If any allegations of bullying, harassment or sexual harassment have come to your attention it is important that you act. Please see our suggested steps to deal with bullying or harassment in the workplace guidance to know what to do next.
We would also advise reading the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) guidance on harassment and sexual harassment at work.