Harassment Law - Protection From Harassment

Protection from Harassment Act and Workplace Bullying

(This is a copy of an article first published in The Guardian' newspaper 8th December 1998 copyright Neil Addison and Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden. It can be downloaded and reprinted for personal use but if reproduced in whole or in part the source must be acknowledged)

Jane (not her real name) a hospital doctor was subjected to constant insults and personal remarks from female colleagues after they learned she was living in a same-sex relationship. There seemed little she could do because the law offers no protection from discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

But a little-noticed effect of the new "anti-stalking_ law could be to provide redress for employees bullied by colleagues or managers. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 covers a far wider range of activities than just stalking. The Act makes it both a criminal offence and a Tort - a civil wrong for which a person can sue and claim compensation - for a person to pursue a course of conduct which causes another person harassment. alarm or distress in circumstances where a reasonable person would feel harassed.

This means more than one incident and includes words as well as actions. Damages can be awarded for a course of conduct which causes harassment after June 16 1997 when the act came into force. Since the law now recognises a general right not to be harassed that right applies in the workplace as much as anywhere else If an employee is found to be harassing another that conduct could be a disciplinary offence justifying a formal warning and possibly dismissal. If an employee suffers harassment from a colleague and the employer takes no action to deal with the situation the victim might well be justified in resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.
Until now most cases of harassment which have reached tribunals stage have involved either sexual or racial harassment simply because these types of harassment amount to unlawful sex or race discrimination which are outlawed under specific acts .

If however the person doing the harassment is the same sex and race as the victim it is far more difficult to bring a case before a Tribunal. In addition whilst there are no limits on the damages which an Employment Tribunal can award for sexual or racial discrimination there are statutory limits, based on the employees salary, on any possible damages which can be awarded in other cases . The Protection from Harassment Act however allows a victim of harassment to bring an action based on _simple' harassment regardless of whether that harassment is sexual, racial, homophobic or merely animated by personal dislike. In addition since any action under the act are brought in the ordinary civil courts rather than a Tribunal there is no legal limit on the damages which can be awarded

Bullying is becoming increasingly recognised as a problem in the workplace and often that bullying comes from a senior member of staff under the guise of 'In your face macho management'. A survey by the TUC earlier this year estimated that up to 5 million people could be the victims of bullying at work and 38% of all calls to a TUC help line related to allegations of workplace bullying. A similar survey by the union UNISON suggested that in 83% of cases bullying came from the victims line manager in the work place which is perhaps hardly surprising. Managers after all have the greatest opportunity to engage in bullying behaviour and a subordinate who is a victim can be intimidated into silence by fear for their job.

In one case quoted by the TUC employees were subjected to a campaign of humiliation, verbal abuse and swearing from their manager with employees who did not meet sales targets being made to stand in the corner wearing a dunces hat. Managers are not however the only offenders and a book due to be published by the Industrial Society dealing with harassment in the workplace mentions the case of a female doctor who was subjected to constant insulting and personal remarks from (female) colleagues after they had learnt that she was living in a same-sex relationship.

In a landmark case in 1994 John Walker a Northumberland Social worker was awarded £175,000 after suffering a stress-related breakdown and in July 1997 a teacher, who had suffered 2 mental breakdowns, received £100,000 in an out of court settlement. The important point however about these cases is that the damages were awarded after the victims had suffered psychiatric injury and were designed to compensate for the injury and not for the harassment and distress itself. However under the Protection from Harassment Act it is now possible for courts to award damages for harassing behaviour without the employee having to suffer actual psychiatric injury.

Employers can be held liable for the behaviour of their employees and those who tolerate or do nothing to prevent bullying behaviour in the workplace could find themselves being sued on this basis. This is especially so where the bullying employee is a manager who has been placed in a position of authority and control over the victim. The extent of workplace bullying means that employers could face a flood of harassment claims unless they act now to stamp it out

(Neil Addison is a Barrister, Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden is a Solicitor-Advocate. They are co-authors of 'Harassment Law and Practice' published by Blackstone Press)