Workplace Bullying FAQs – What Are My Rights?

There is no specific law which either defines or deals with bullying. There are laws against harassment, but most instances of workplace bullying are unlikely to be serious enough to amount to harassment.

There is a law against treating someone unfavourably because of or in relation to a protected characteristic (such as a person’s sex, age, race, etc.), which will cover instances of bullying. However, this is unlikely to apply to more general forms of bullying.

If you think the bullying is connected with a protected characteristic, take a look at our guide on discrimination: Guide to Discrimination & Harassment : Wilson Browne

Not exactly! As with most employment disputes, employees should think about whether to raise a grievance. This is a method of notifying their employer of their concerns and what steps might be taken to resolve them.

There is a code of practice which all employers must follow if an employee raises a grievance. This will usually involve some form of investigation and meeting, after which the employer should provide you with an outcome. If you aren’t happy with that outcome, your employer should allow you to appeal.

Since there is no law against bullying, your options are limited if you or your employer are unwilling to work on improving things.

Namely, the next option after exhausting the grievance procedure would be to resign. Before doing so, it might be worth exploring whether your employer has any interest in discussing a settlement agreement.

If your employer has already responded to your grievance without bringing up a settlement agreement, then it probably won’t be interested. However, you have more leverage while you’re still employed compared with after you’ve resigned.

Potentially, but you would have to show that you resigned in response to a repudiatory breach of your employment contract. A repudiatory breach is any breach which is so serious that it brings your relationship with your employer to an end.

In most cases, an employee will argue that their employer acted so unfairly or so unreasonably that it breached the trust and confidence which must exist in every employment relationship. This could either be due to one really serious incident, or several less serious incidents which are all related.

If you resign in response to a breach of contract, you have been constructively dismissed.

This provides you with the option of claiming wrongful dismissal. A wrongful dismissal is a dismissal in breach of your contract of employment.

If you bring a wrongful dismissal claim in the employment tribunal, you could receive damages. These will be limited to the position you would have been in if the contract had not been breached.

In most cases, this means you only stand to receive a payment equivalent to your contractual notice period. If you worked or were paid this already, then you might not receive any compensation.

Unfair dismissal is a separate claim to wrongful dismissal, but it is possible to claim both at the same time. The basis of an unfair dismissal claim in these circumstances would be the constructive dismissal mentioned above.

An unfair dismissal is only available if you have worked for your employer for two years or more. This will be something to think carefully about if you are thinking of resigning and are close to having two years’ service.

If your claim of unfair dismissal is successful, you will be awarded compensation comprising a basic award and a compensatory award. The basic award is equivalent to a statutory redundancy payment, and the compensatory award is mostly made up of your loss of earnings. In most cases, this means what you would have earned if you had stayed employed from the date of your dismissal to the date you find a new job.

You need to make sure that you start the process within the time limit. In most cases, this is three months less one day from the date of the incident which forms the basis of your complaint.

For example, if you resign on 4 April 2024, you should start the process by no later than 3 July 2024.

The first stage of the process is early conciliation. Early conciliation is a service offered by Acas which aims to resolve employment disputes before they are issued to employment tribunal.

It’s mandatory to at least notify Acas of the dispute before you can issue the claim. If you choose not to conciliate, Acas should issue you with a certificate which confirms that you notified them and which includes a reference number. You will need to quote this reference number when you issue your claim.

In most cases, however, it is usually worth engaging with early conciliation. The process is free, and the time limit mentioned above is usually extended by the amount of time you spend conciliating. However, there are complicated rules surrounding this, so we recommend seeking legal advice if you have any questions about it.

We have a range of options to support employees navigate stressful and time-consuming employment issues.

It’s important to take legal advice before making any big decisions, such as resigning or issuing a claim. Good advice will help you identify any risks and plan strategically so that you are in the best possible position. This will often save you time and money in the long run.

If you are facing bullying at work, or if you have any other kind of employment query, feel free to give us a call.