Are you being bullied at work?
No, I mean really being bullied. As in repeated inappropriate behaviour which undermines your dignity as an employee.
Let me explain.
If I got a euro for every time an employee came to me and told me he/she was being bullied in work I would be a wealthy man.
But the vast majority of the time it what is described to me is not bullying, and will not fall within the legal definition of bullying.
For example, often, the employee will tell me she has been subjected to the disciplinary procedure in the workplace. There is two problems with claiming this is bullying:
- It is a one off situation, and not part of a repeated pattern of behaviour which undermines the employee’s dignity;
- Management is entitled to invoke the disciplinary procedure in the workplace, for obvious reasons.
So, being involved in a disciplinary procedure is not bullying, per se, although if it was part of a concerted campaign of inappropriate behaviour.
On other occasions, an employee will have an issue or complaint in relation to some aspect of their work, or terms and conditions of their employment. They will, correctly, invoke the grievance procedure in the workplace, but disagree with the outcome.
They simply will not accept the decision, as it was not what they wanted or expected. The disappointment is understandable, but bullying it is not.
Remember if you raise a complaint or grievance or bring a claim or legal proceedings there is a number of potential outcomes. One of these is that you will lose. You need to be ready for this, and ready to put it behind you and move on.
The legal definition of bullying was recently affirmed in the Supreme Court decision in the Ruffley v Board of Management of St. Anne’s School. Remember, we are talking about repeated, inappropriate behaviour which undermines the dignity of the employee.
What does this mean?
Firstly, the conduct complained of must be repeated. This probably means a period of at least 6 months. It is not possible to say, with any confidence, that a lesser period will not be considered bullying. But the point you must take from this is: the inappropriate conduct must not be a one off situation, or of short duration.
Secondly, the conduct complained of as bullying behaviour must undermine the dignity of the employee. What does this mean?
According to the Supreme Court decision the type of behaviour you must prove
must be outrageous, unacceptable, and exceeding all bounds tolerated by decent society.
This, clearly, is a pretty high hurdle to clear.
The Court also held that a certain degree of robustness is required of the employee in the workplace. Instruction, direction and even, on occasion, robust management, are all necessary in a workplace to ensure efficiency, that the work gets done, and health and safety in the workplace is maintained.
The treatment you endure at work may make you very annoyed, it may upset you from time to time, you may feel it is personal, you may feel it is bullying.
But from a legal perspective, proving bullying behaviour, according to Justice Charleton in the Supreme Court, must clear a high standard of proof:
“the test for bullying is of necessity to be set very high”.
The reason for this, I presume, is that for workplaces to function management must be able to manage and organise the affairs of the workplace safely, without facing frequent Court proceedings for perceived slights, give necessary direction and instruction, and, occasionally, robust management.
The Legal Redress for Bullying
There are two substantial types of claim (one more substantial than the other) you can bring arising from being a victim of bullying, assuming that you can prove that what you have experienced is bullying, as discussed above.
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A Claim in Civil Court
Your claim will be that a tort (civil wrong) has occurred.
You must prove that the employer has been negligent in failing to discharge his duty of care, discharging his duty to provide a safe place of work, that you have suffered a recognised psychiatric or psychological injury as a result of that negligence, and are entitled to recover damages. You would also claim that the employer is in breach of the contract of employment in failing to deal property and promptly with your complaints.
Going to Court is expensive and, in relation to costs, the winner takes all. (Elsewhere on my site I have set out what you need to prove to win your case in Court).
2. A Claim for Constructive Dismissal
This claim is brought to the WRC (Workplace Relations Commission) and involves you quitting your job and claiming that the bullying you have suffered in the workplace has not been dealt with by the employer, and you have had no real choice but to leave your job.
This claim does not have the cost implications of going to Court, but the redress you can be awarded is significantly less, too, as you cannot be awarded damages for pain and suffering.
You can only be awarded financial loss for your loss of employment. The amount of financial loos will depend on how quickly you get a new job.
Conclusion
You will see from the above that the two main options open to you if you are a victim of bullying in the workplace have inherent difficulties.
Going to Court is a high stakes endeavour with potentially high legal costs, a high burden of proof to prove bullying, and you must be able to prove you have suffered a recognised injury of a psychological or psychiatric nature.
Going to the WRC on a constructive dismissal claim will see you losing your job and only being able to recover your financial loss for being out of work between jobs.
The two big problems with commencing some type of claim or redress for bullying in the workplace are:
- Satisfying the legal proof required to prove bullying
- The difficulties associated with the avenues of redress open to you.
If you suffer from bullying you do not have to suffer in silence. There is action you can take to resolve the difficulty.
But it is probably useful that you are aware of the difficulties at the outset.