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Are You Doing Enough to Tackle Workplace Bullying?
A new survey has shown that a surprising
number of business owners are uninformed
about dealing with bullying and harassment
in the workplace.
 Employment
law firm Peninsula has found that a shocking
83% of employers are unaware of the point at
which a joke becomes harassment. This is
despite 66% having witnessed pranks that
have offended employees.
Perhaps more worrying is that only 18% of
employees surveyed had felt a complaint
about offensive jokes had been taken
seriously; and 68% thought employers should
do more to deal with workplace harassment.
If your employees ever feel bullied, they
will be counting on your action to deal with
the problem quickly. If you do not act, or
are unsure what to do; they could quickly
become de-motivated and unhappy with both
the situation and your management of it.
Mike Huss, Senior Employment Law Specialist
at Peninsula commented: “Employers have to
bear in the mind the damaging consequences
of harassment cases in the workplace which
can lead to the loss of employees, Tribunals
and financial pitfalls. Employers should be
more aware of this growing problem and the
legal position. It’s imperative to stamp out
this problem in its developing stages and
use the proper conduct procedures when
stating when a joke goes too far.”
Failure to act on bullying or harassment
charges could seriously damage your
business. If an employee feels you have done
too little to help stop bullying you could
also be accused of turning a blind eye or
even helping the bullies by ignoring their
actions. You are also required to ensure the
welfare of employees under the Health and
Safety at Work Act 1974, so failing to take
action against bullying could therefore see
you in breach of the law.
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